Active therapies
The aim of active therapies is to lead the patient out of the isolation of the illness by means of a meaningful activity. They also help to structure everyday life and to reintegrate the patient into society.

Early methods of sedation
The continuous immersion bath and the bed and watch room treatment are designed to calm patients by keeping them in the water or in bed for long periods of time.

Somatic therapies
Somatic therapies attempt to positively influence mental disorders through physical treatments. This often involves putting the body into an extreme state, such as a coma or high fever.

Psychosurgery
Psychosurgery involves the surgical destruction of areas of the brain associated with the disorder.

Psychotherapies
Psychotherapeutic methods treat disorders with psychological means, with most forms of therapy focusing on the conversation and the relationship between therapist and patient.

Pharmacotherapy
For a long time, psychiatry only had sedatives or sleeping pills at its disposal. From the middle of the 20th century, psychotropic drugs were developed that directly influence certain symptoms and disorders.

Milieu therapy
In milieu therapy, everyday life, such as living together, doing the housework together, etc., is shaped into a therapeutic process in supervised therapeutic communities, whether in small departments of the clinic or in shared accommodation.

Art therapies
In art therapy, painting, music or design are used as a means of expression to visualise inner states and processes. This enables patients to perceive psychological processes and reflect on them in therapeutic conversations.

Complementary therapies
In view of the complexity of mental disorders, alternative therapies and techniques are often used to help in combination with other treatment methods.

New therapeutic approaches
New scientific findings, such as the brain-gut connection, are leading to new therapeutic approaches. In addition, older research is being revisited, such as the psychotherapeutic use of psychedelic substances.