When people come for therapy, they are feeling uncomfortable. Usually, they are experiencing feelings such as depression, anxiety, or anger. The source of those feelings lies in how they think about themselves or in how they cope with problems in their lives. So, change involves learning new thoughts and behavior. People need to learn self-enhancing ways to think about themselves and what happens to them. They need to change their behavior in order to better meet the challenges of life.
Giving up those old, familiar thoughts and behaviors can be frightening because we do not know how to change and what to change to. This is why reading a self-help book is rarely sufficient to help you change. It can give you information, but it cannot help you overcome your fears. Psychotherapy involves helping you decide to change and to act on it.
I have seen many forms of psychotherapy come and go, but the basics remain the same. They involve building a therapeutic relationship and helping people find alternatives to their problems. Medications can help this process, but they are not required. If you want or need medications, I have relationships with several psychiatrists in the area.