What is Therapy?
Everyone has occasional struggles with mental health, but you do not need to be alone in overcoming them. Mental health is every bit as important as physical health, and in fact the two are intertwined with each other. Unfortunately, many people are reluctant to seek professional treatment due to common misconceptions about mental health issues and psychotherapy.
Misconception 1: Admitting I need help indicates weakness.
People frequently feel like they are supposed to resolve their problems themselves. Admitting you need help isn’t easy, but everyone needs help sometimes. Asking for help is a courageous act. It shows you value yourself and capable of changing your direction in life. Therapy helps you work through difficulties and supports your path of personal development, allowing you to make positive changes in your life.
Misconception 2: Therapy focuses only on childhood issues.
This myth traces back to Sigmund Freud’s original focus on childhood in psychoanalysis. It’s true that many mental health issues stem from childhood trauma or neglect. However, therapy helps you address today’s problems. Discussion of prior life experience, including childhood experience, is an important part of understanding your current thoughts and feelings. After all, life is a journey, and you can’t really know where you are unless you understand where you’ve been.
Misconception 3: My problems aren’t serious enough for therapy.
You don’t have to have deep, serious, or even traumatic problems to benefit from therapy. Like with many things in life, it’s a bad idea to wait until a problem becomes unfixable before fixing the issue. Therapy will help you address the small issues before they become big or even unsolvable. Also, don’t compare your problems with those who “have it worse” than you do, because every mental health issue is valid and worth treating, and have every right to take care of yourself.
Misconception 4: I don’t need therapy if I talk to friends or family.
Friends and family certainly can support you in many areas, and get you through some tough times. However, they are not specially trained and licensed as mental health professionals. Trying to use them as therapists can unduly strain and even harm the relationship. A therapist is not a “life coach” dispensing advice, but rather a sounding board to help you make the connections necessary for you to make positive life changes.
Misconception 5: Therapy isn’t worth the money.
Cost is a factor for many people. However, the cost of is well worth the benefits. Your mental health issues can have a serious impact on certain facets of life, and thereby interfering with your happiness. If you make a solid effort to participate, therapy can improve your relationships, work, health and happiness, and therefore is a solid investment with positive returns well into the future.
Misconception 6: Therapy never ends.
Therapy is often viewed as something done over a long period time, perhaps even for the rest of your life. However, the length and frequency of sessions depends entirely on the person and their particular struggles and goals. You may only need a few sessions to set things right. It also might be beneficial to have sessions over a longer period of time to work through deeper issues. In either case, you will be able to apply the skills and tools you learn through therapy once therapy ends. Occasional therapy “tune-ups” can also be extremely helpful after leaving therapy.
Misconception 7: My therapist must have had the same experiences to help me.
Everyone wants to be understood and validated, and we tend to believe that understanding comes from a common experience. This is true, but therapists also can understand your situation through the same issues they have encountered in a different context. Also, understanding another’s experience requires empathy, and therapists are trained to express that empathy, and to support you in the appropriate way, even if they haven’t encountered exactly the same difficulties as you have.