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Experiential Therapy: What It Is & How It Works

Published: January 25, 2022 Updated: June 29, 2022
Published: 01/25/2022 Updated: 06/29/2022
Headshot of Silvi Saxena, MBA, MSW, LSW, CCTP, OSW-C
Written by:

Silvi Saxena

MBA, MSW, LSW, CCTP, OSW-C
Headshot of Benjamin Troy, MD
Reviewed by:

Benjamin Troy

MD
  • What Is Experiential Therapy?Definition
  • Is Experiential Therapy Effective?Is It Effective?
  • What Can Experiential Therapy Help With?How It Helps
  • Examples of Experiential TherapyExamples
  • How Much Does Experiential Therapy Cost?Cost
  • How to Find the Right TherapistGetting Help
  • Final ThoughtsConclusion
  • Additional ResourcesResources
Headshot of Silvi Saxena, MBA, MSW, LSW, CCTP, OSW-C
Written by:

Silvi Saxena

MBA, MSW, LSW, CCTP, OSW-C
Headshot of Benjamin Troy, MD
Reviewed by:

Benjamin Troy

MD

Experiential therapy is an approach to psychotherapy that includes the use of recreational activities, various expressive modalities, and other physical and emotional activities. By using hands-on activities or role play, children, teens and adults can learn to identify and focus on what they’re feeling. The goal is to improve overall well-being and functioning and overcome negative emotions.

BetterHelp has over 20,000 licensed therapists who provide convenient and affordable online therapy. BetterHelp starts at $60 per week. Complete a brief questionnaire and get matched with the right therapist for you.

Choosing Therapy partners with leading mental health companies and is compensated for referrals by BetterHelp

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What Is Experiential Therapy?

Experiential therapy involves activities like role playing, props, music, or art to process negative emotions. By participating in these activities, individuals are able to access emotions that may otherwise be hidden or not easily communicated. When we evoke, re-experience, and reflect on negative emotions, we can work to identify where they came from and move past them toward more positive emotions.6

It can be used in individual, family, couple, and group therapy settings, as well as in outpatient clinics, behavioral health facilities, and inpatient medical facilities.

16 Types of Experiential Therapy

Experiential therapy is versatile as it includes a variety of techniques or types, including play therapy and narrative therapy. Regardless of type, it generally involves a structured, hands-on approach with individual clients, allowing them to become more aware of themselves, their emotions, and their overall experience through more than one sense.

16 types of therapy that use experiential therapy include:

  1. Art therapy
  2. Music therapy
  3. Equine therapy
  4. Adventure therapy
  5. Ecotherapy
  6. Play therapy
  7. Narrative therapy
  8. Crafting
  9. Role play
  10. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)
  11. Dance therapy
  12. Psychodrama
  13. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR)
  14. Trauma-informed yoga therapy
  15. Gestalt therapy
  16. Meditation

Is Experiential Therapy Effective?

There are a variety of studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of experiential therapy. In one study for depression, experiential therapy (narrative therapy) was found effective in reducing feelings of hopelessness and negative thoughts and improving low mood.1

Here are five additional examples of experiential therapy’s effectiveness:

  1. In a study examining guilt, experiential therapy improved the subjects’ ability to forgive themselves and offer themselves more compassion2
  2. A study aimed at looking at the role of experiential therapy for relationship issues showed that this approach helped give couples and families more positive outcomes with issues such as infidelity and trauma3
  3. In a study aimed at couples with attachment insecurity, experiential therapy helped couples have more awareness of their experience and emotions, resulting in overall greater marital satisfaction4
  4. In a study on eating disorders, experiential therapy combined with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) had better outcomes than CBT alone3
  5. In a study on post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychodrama and trauma-focused experiential therapies helped to reduce PTSD symptoms by 25% over the first 2-3 weeks5

What Can Experiential Therapy Help With?

Experiential therapy can help with a variety of things, including anger management, shame, phobias, and relationship issues.

The following can be treated with experiential therapy:

  • Trauma and PTSD
  • Addiction
  • Anger management
  • Grief and loss
  • Chronic pain
  • Phobias
  • Shame and guilt
  • Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
  • Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)/attention deficit disorder (ADD)
  • Stress
  • Relationship and family issues
  • Anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders
  • Personality disorders
  • Eating disorders7

Examples of Experiential Therapy

Given that experiential therapy involves a diverse set of techniques and activities used by a therapist, it’s important to consider that all techniques may not help all individuals. However, there are a number of techniques that are effective for certain issues.

Here are five examples of experiential therapy:

1. Art Therapy

Art therapy can help those who have little control over a situation. The act of creating art can essentially give control to these individuals, allowing them to create an environment that can help them express what they’re feeling. Art therapy can be helpful for those with chronic pain, stress, anxiety, and depression.8

2. Music Therapy

Music therapy can help empower individuals to communicate more effectively and express challenging emotions. Listening and creating music can be relaxing and help people work through feelings, channelling them into beats, rhythms, or lyrics.9 Music therapy can assist people with mood disorders, anger issues, trauma, or eating disorders.

3. Play Therapy

Play therapy is used primarily with children to help them feel safe to express themselves by engaging in an activity that feels positive. Adults can also benefit from this approach. It can be particularly helpful for those with shame, guilt issues, trauma, or relationship issues. Play allows them to release the emotions that hold power over them.10

4. Adventure Therapy

Adventure therapy is another approach that helps individuals use hands-on approaches to solve the problems in front of them. Activities such as biking or rock-climbing are examples of specific ways people can engage in adventure therapy. It helps individuals manage problems and stress in real-time.11

5. Psychorama

Psychorama is an approach that helps individuals reclaim emotions from past experiences through role-playing. It encourages them to reimagine and eventually recover from negative past experiences, learning better ways to deal with difficult emotions. This is especially helpful for those with PTSD, addiction, and phobias.12

How Much Does Experiential Therapy Cost?

Experiential therapy costs may be covered or partially covered by health insurance if you receive treatment from someone who is “in-network.” There’s usually a copay for mental health services, which can range from $0-$40, with co-insurance options that run higher, $40+. If health insurance does not cover therapy, and a patient needs to pay out-of-pocket, sessions can typically range from $60-$200 per hour.

If you don’t have insurance coverage and have limited income, you may be able to find therapists who offer sliding scale fees to help keep experiential therapy affordable.

How to Find the Right Therapist

The best way to find a therapist is by searching an online therapist directory and reviewing the in-network providers with your insurance. Look through profiles online and narrow down a few to contact for an initial conversation; many offer a free phone consultation. Experiential therapists may have additional training or specialties, so asking about their experience with this treatment modality is encouraged.

Final Thoughts

What you’re struggling with may be unique to you, but you’re not alone. If you are dealing with issues like trauma, mood disorders, or chronic pain, talking to a therapist who specializes in experiential therapy can make a positive difference in how you feel.

Additional Resources

Education is just the first step on our path to improved mental health and emotional wellness. To help our readers take the next step in their journey, Choosing Therapy has partnered with leaders in mental health and wellness. Choosing Therapy may be compensated for referrals by the companies mentioned below.

Choosing Therapy’s Directory – Find an experienced therapist that is trained or specializes in the type of therapy you want! You can search for a therapist by specialty, availability, insurance, and affordability. Therapist profiles and introductory videos provide insight into the therapist’s personality. Find a therapist today.

BetterHelp (Online Therapy) – Most therapists practice multiple techniques, including CBT, DBT, and person-centered therapy. BetterHelp has over 20,000 licensed therapists who provide convenient and affordable online therapy. BetterHelp starts at $60 per week. Complete a brief questionnaire and get matched with the right therapist for you. Get Started

Online-Therapy.com (CBT based therapy) – The Online-Therapy.com standard plan includes a weekly 45 minute video session, unlimited text messaging between sessions, and self-guided activities like journaling. Recently, they added instructional Yoga videos. Get Started

Choosing Therapy partners with leading mental health companies and is compensated for referrals by BetterHelp and Online-Therapy.com

For Further Reading

  • International Experiential Therapy Association (IEDTA)
  • International Society for Experiential Professionals 
12 sources

Choosing Therapy strives to provide our readers with mental health content that is accurate and actionable. We have high standards for what can be cited within our articles. Acceptable sources include government agencies, universities and colleges, scholarly journals, industry and professional associations, and other high-integrity sources of mental health journalism. Learn more by reviewing our full editorial policy.

  • Seo, M., Kang, H. S., Lee, Y. J., & Chae, S. M. (2015). Narrative therapy with an emotional approach for people with depression: Improved symptom and cognitive-emotional outcomes. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 22(6), 379-389. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25753316/

  • Cornish, M. A., & Wade, N. G. (2015). Working through past wrongdoing: Examination of a self-forgiveness counseling intervention. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(3), 521-528. https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fcou0000080

  • Elliott, R. Greenberg, L. S., Watson, J., Timulak, L., & Freire, E. (2013). Research on humanistic-experiential psychotherapies. In M. J. Lambert (Ed.), Bergin & Garfield’s Handďook of psychotherapy and behavior change (6th ed., pp. 495-538). New York, NY: Wiley.

  • Dalgleish, T. L., Johnson, S. M., Moser, M. B., Lafontaine, M., Wiebe, S. A., & Tasca, G. A. (2015). Predicting change in marital satisfaction throughout emotionally focused couple therapy. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 41(3), 276-291. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24910261/

  • Giacomucci, S., & Marquit, J. (2020). The effectiveness of trauma-focused psychodrama in the treatment of PTSD in inpatient substance abuse treatment. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 896. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7252437/

  • Pos, A. E., Paolone, D. A., Smith, C. E., & Warwar, S. H. (2017). How does client expressed emotional arousal relate to outcome in experiential therapy for depression?. Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies, 16(2), 173-190. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14779757.2017.1323666?journalCode=rpcp20

  • Cummings, L. L. (2021). The Shift into Experience: Experiential Therapy as a Paradigm Shift in Healing (Doctoral dissertation, Pacifica Graduate Institute).

  • Haeyen, S., van Hooren, S., van der Veld, W., & Hutschemaekers, G. (2018). Efficacy of art therapy in individuals with personality disorders cluster B/C: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of personality disorders, 32(4), 527-542. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28926306/

  • Hiller, J., Belt, C., Gardstrom, S., & Willenbrink-Conte, J. (2021). Safeguarding Curricular Self-Experiences in Undergraduate Music Therapy Education and Training. Music Therapy Perspectives, 39(1), 86-94. https://academic.oup.com/mtp/article-abstract/39/1/86/6056236?redirectedFrom=fulltext

  • Barker, B., Cannell, C., Naylor, S., Pearl, K., Stewart, E., & Oka, M. (2019). Let’s play: Using systemic and experiential techniques in the play therapy instruction of MFT masters’ students. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 47(1), 1-18.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01926187.2018.1558422?journalCode=uaft20

  • Russell, K. C., Gillis, H. L. L., & Kivlighan Jr, D. M. (2017). Process factors explaining psycho-social outcomes in adventure therapy. Psychotherapy, 54(3), 273. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28922006/

  • Giacomucci, S. (2021). Other Experiential Approaches Similar to Psychodrama. Social Work, Sociometry, and Psychodrama, 1, 291. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7901027/

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Headshot of Silvi Saxena, MBA, MSW, LSW, CCTP, OSW-C
Written by:

Silvi Saxena

MBA, MSW, LSW, CCTP, OSW-C
Headshot of Benjamin Troy, MD
Reviewed by:

Benjamin Troy

MD
  • What Is Experiential Therapy?Definition
  • Is Experiential Therapy Effective?Is It Effective?
  • What Can Experiential Therapy Help With?How It Helps
  • Examples of Experiential TherapyExamples
  • How Much Does Experiential Therapy Cost?Cost
  • How to Find the Right TherapistGetting Help
  • Final ThoughtsConclusion
  • Additional ResourcesResources
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