This is a list of types of medical therapy, including forms of traditional medicine and alternative medicine. For psychotherapies and other behavioral and psychological intervention methods, see list of psychotherapies.
abortive therapy acupressure (some scientific aspects, many prescientific) acupuncture (some scientific aspects, many prescientific) adjunct therapy adjunctive therapy adjuvant therapy alternative therapy (two senses: a second choice among scientific therapies, or alternative medicine) androgen replacement therapy animal-assisted therapy antibody therapy antihormone therapy antiserum therapy aquarium therapy aquatic therapy (nonscientific and scientific forms) aromatherapy art therapy Auger therapy aurotherapy autism therapies autologous immune enhancement therapy balneotherapy bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (some scientific aspects, some pseudoscientific) biotherapy blood irradiation therapy brachytherapy cardiac resynchronization therapy cell therapy cytotherapy cell transfer therapy chelation therapy chemotherapy Chinese food therapy (some scientific aspects, mostly prescientific) chiropractic therapy (some scientific aspects, some pseudoscientific) chronotherapy (treatment scheduling) chrysotherapy climatotherapy cobalt therapy cold compression therapy combination therapy consolidation therapy contrast bath therapy counseling craniosacral therapy (mostly pseudoscientific) cryotherapy crystal therapy (mostly pre- and pseudoscientific) cupping therapy curative therapy cytoluminescent therapy (mostly pseudoscientific) dark therapy definitive therapy destination therapy diathermy diesel therapy (ironic name) dietary therapy (various nonscientific and scientific forms) drug therapy duct tape occlusion therapy (mechanism unknown but has had some scientific study) electrohomeopathy (electropathy) electroconvulsive therapy electromagnetic therapy electromagnetic therapy (alternative medicine) (pseudoscientific) electron therapy electrotherapy empiric therapy (two senses, one scientific, one not) energy therapy (mostly pre- and pseudoscientific) enzyme replacement therapy epigenetic therapy equine therapy estrogen replacement therapy exercise therapy extracorporeal shockwave therapy fast neutron therapy Feldenkrais therapy (not entirely scientific, but empirical) feminizing hormone therapy fluoride therapy gene therapy gene therapy for color blindness gene therapy for epilepsy gene therapy for osteoarthritis gene therapy in Parkinson's disease gene therapy of the human retina gold standard therapy grape therapy (prescientific and quackery forms) Greyhound therapy (ironic name) halotherapy (mostly prescientific; see also mineral spa) heat therapy helminthic therapy herbal therapy (prescientific and pseudoscientific forms; compare phytotherapy) hippotherapy hormone therapy hormonal therapy (oncology) hormone replacement therapy horticultural therapy host modulatory therapy hydrotherapy (nonscientific and scientific forms) hyperbaric oxygen therapy hyperthermia therapy hypothermia therapy for neonatal encephalopathy ichthyotherapy (prescientific but empirical) immunosuppressive therapy immunotherapy induction therapy intraoperative electron radiation therapy intraoperative radiation therapy intravenous immunoglobulin therapy intravenous therapy inversion therapy investigational therapy laser therapy leech therapy (prescientific and scientific forms) light therapy lithium therapy low level laser therapy maggot therapy magnet therapy magnetic resonance therapy maintenance therapy manual therapy martial arts therapy masculinizing hormone therapy massage therapy medical gas therapy medical nutrition therapy medical therapy in general contexts means therapy and within medical contexts often means specifically pharmacotherapy mesotherapy (pseudoscientific) microwave thermotherapy mindfullness molecular chaperone therapy molecular therapy monoclonal antibody therapy monotherapy mud therapy (prescientific) music therapy negative air ionization therapy neoadjuvant therapy neurologic music therapy Neurotherapy neutron capture therapy of cancer neutron therapy occupational therapy oral rehydration therapy osmotherapy oxygen therapy ozone therapy palliative therapy particle therapy pet therapy phage therapy pharmacotherapy phonemic neurological hypochromium therapy photodynamic therapy phototherapy photothermal therapy physical therapy physiotherapy phytotherapy platin therapy polychemotherapy polytherapy preventive therapy prolotherapy prophylactic therapy protein therapy proton therapy
pulsed electromagnetic field therapy PUVA therapy qigong therapy quack therapies radiation therapy radiotherapy Recreation Therapy rehydration therapy rescue therapy respiratory therapy retail therapy (semifacetious name) salt therapy (mostly prescientific; see also mineral spa) salvage therapy scuba diving therapy serotherapy sex therapy sonodynamic therapy (mostly pseudoscientific) sound therapy spa therapy (prescientific and pseudoscientific forms) speech therapy speleotherapy (mostly prescientific; see also mineral spa) stem cell therapy step therapy stepladder therapy stepdown therapy stereotactic radiation therapy supportive therapy surf therapy systemic therapy sweat therapy (mostly prescientific; see also sauna and mineral spa) tai chi therapy targeted therapy thalassotherapy thermotherapy TK cell therapy tolerogenic therapy transdermal continuous oxygen therapy transgender hormone therapy ultraviolet light therapy urine therapy (some scientific forms; various prescientific or pseudoscientific forms) virotherapy wake therapy Waon therapy water cure therapy
By therapy composition Treatments can be classified according to the method of treatment:
By matter
by drugs: pharmacotherapy, chemotherapy (also, medical therapy often means specifically pharmacotherapy) by medical devices: implantation cardiac resynchronization therapy by specific molecules: molecular therapy (although most drugs are specific molecules, molecular medicine refers in particular to medicine relying on molecular biology) by specific biomolecular targets: targeted therapy molecular chaperone therapy by chelation: chelation therapy by specific chemical elements: by metals: by heavy metals: by gold: chrysotherapy (aurotherapy) by platinum-containing drugs: platin therapy by biometals by lithium: lithium therapy by potassium: potassium supplementation by magnesium: magnesium supplementation by chromium: chromium supplementation; phonemic neurological hypochromium therapy by copper: copper supplementation by nonmetals: by diatomic oxygen: oxygen therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (hyperbaric medicine) transdermal continuous oxygen therapy by triatomic oxygen (ozone): ozone therapy by fluoride: fluoride therapy by other gases: medical gas therapy by water: hydrotherapy aquatic therapy rehydration therapy oral rehydration therapy water cure (therapy) by biological materials (biogenic substances, biomolecules, biotic materials, natural products), including their synthetic equivalents: biotherapy by whole organisms by viruses: virotherapy by bacteriophages: phage therapy by animal interaction: see animal interaction section by constituents or products of organisms by plant parts or extracts (but many drugs are derived from plants, even when the term phytotherapy is not used) scientific type: phytotherapy traditional (prescientific) type: herbalism by animal parts: quackery involving shark fins, tiger parts, and so on, often driving threat or endangerment of species by genes: gene therapy gene therapy for epilepsy gene therapy for osteoarthritis gene therapy for color blindness gene therapy of the human retina gene therapy in Parkinson's disease by epigenetics: epigenetic therapy by proteins: protein therapy (but many drugs are proteins despite not being called protein therapy) by enzymes: enzyme replacement therapy by hormones: hormone therapy hormonal therapy (oncology) hormone replacement therapy estrogen replacement therapy androgen replacement therapy hormone replacement therapy (menopause) transgender hormone therapy feminizing hormone therapy masculinizing hormone therapy antihormone therapy androgen deprivation therapy by whole cells: cell therapy (cytotherapy) by stem cells: stem cell therapy by immune cells: see immune system products below by immune system products: immunotherapy, host modulatory therapy by immune cells: T-cell vaccination cell transfer therapy autologous immune enhancement therapy TK cell therapy by humoral immune factors: antibody therapy by whole serum: serotherapy, including antiserum therapy by immunoglobulins: immunoglobulin therapy by monoclonal antibodies: monoclonal antibody therapy by urine: urine therapy (some scientific forms; many prescientific or pseudoscientific forms) by food and dietary choices: medical nutrition therapy grape therapy (quackery) by salts (but many drugs are the salts of organic acids, even when drug therapy is not called by names reflecting that) by salts in the air by natural dry salt air: "taking the cure" in desert locales (especially common in prescientific medicine; for example, one 19th-century way to treat tuberculosis) by artificial dry salt air: low-humidity forms of speleotherapy negative air ionization therapy by moist salt air: by natural moist salt air: seaside cure (especially common in prescientific medicine) by artificial moist salt air: water vapor forms of speleotherapy by salts in the water by mineral water: spa cure ("taking the waters") (especially common in prescientific medicine) by seawater: seaside cure (especially common in prescientific medicine) by aroma: aromatherapy by other materials with mechanism of action unknown by occlusion with duct tape: duct tape occlusion therapy
By energy
by electric energy as electric current: electrotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy Transcranial magnetic stimulation Vagus nerve stimulation by magnetic energy: magnet therapy pulsed electromagnetic field therapy magnetic resonance therapy by electromagnetic radiation (EMR): by light: light therapy (phototherapy) ultraviolet light therapy PUVA therapy photodynamic therapy photothermal therapy cytoluminescent therapy blood irradiation therapy by darkness: dark therapy by lasers: laser therapy low level laser therapy by gamma rays: radiosurgery Gamma Knife radiosurgery stereotactic radiation therapy cobalt therapy by radiation generally: radiation therapy (radiotherapy) intraoperative radiation therapy by EMR particles: particle therapy proton therapy electron therapy intraoperative electron radiation therapy Auger therapy neutron therapy fast neutron therapy neutron capture therapy of cancer by radioisotopes emitting EMR: by nuclear medicine by brachytherapy quackery type: electromagnetic therapy (alternative medicine) by mechanical: manual therapy as massotherapy and therapy by exercise as in physical therapy inversion therapy by sound: by ultrasound: ultrasonic lithotripsy extracorporeal shockwave therapy sonodynamic therapy by music: music therapy by temperature by heat: heat therapy (thermotherapy) by moderately elevated ambient temperatures: hyperthermia therapy by dry warm surroundings: Waon therapy by dry or humid warm surroundings: sauna, including infrared sauna, for sweat therapy by cold: by extreme cold to specific tissue volumes: cryotherapy by ice and compression: cold compression therapy by ambient cold: hypothermia therapy for neonatal encephalopathy (in newborns) targeted temperature management (therapeutic hypothermia, protective hypothermia)