Maybe he would benefit from more traditional forms of healing like talking with friends and family, exercise or focusing his efforts on helping others who are also struggling. It is more of an acknowledgement that, for thousands of years, people overcame tremendous hardships without the help of a psychologist, psychiatrist or social worker. This idea is not to minimize the important role we play in many of our patients lives. It is just a reminder that healing can occur in many different places and from many different people.
Therapy can be a highly effective treatment for a range of psychological problems and people. We have much to offer and countless lives have been improved and saved because of our work. However, psychotherapy is not a magic bullet. A previous version of this article was published in Dr. Moores column Kevlar for the Mind in Military Times. Why do we need to live life?
There are many possible answers to that question, and here are 22 of them, together with an exercise to find your own…. Trauma can impact your life in many ways. Sometimes, you may not be aware.
These are some of the possible effects it has on childhood and adulthood. For some people, the problems are short term, and no treatment is needed. But for others, participating in talk therapy can make a significant difference in how they feel and possibly change their outlook on life. Talk therapy, which is also known as psychotherapy, is what mental health professionals use to communicate with their patients. The purpose of talk therapy is to help people identify issues that cause emotional distress.
For some people, these issues are complex and may result in a diagnosis such as depression or anxiety. But for others, talk therapy may simply serve as a safe place to discuss feelings and emotions triggered by daily stressors, a medical illness, relationship issues, grief and loss, or the impact of a specific trauma.
Once the issues are identified, a therapist will help you understand how these stressors are affecting your life and work to develop strategies and solutions to help decrease the severity of the symptoms. In general, a talk therapy session lasts about an hour, often 50 minutes. How often you go to therapy and how long you continue it depends on the severity of symptoms and the treatment plan your therapist develops.
Initially, you may expect to attend therapy once a week. While this may seem like a major commitment, attending weekly sessions gives you the chance to develop a relationship with your therapist and adjust to the process. The frequency of sessions may change to bi-monthly as you develop coping strategies and begin showing signs of improvement.
Choosing the right therapist is just part of the equation. The good news? There are five broad categories of psychotherapy, according to the American Psychological Association. Usually, you'll talk one-to-one with the therapist. Sometimes talking treatments are held in groups or couples, such as relationship counselling. They'll usually be done face-to-face, but you might be able to have talking therapy over the phone, via email or on Skype. Although there are lots of different types of talking therapy, they all have a similar aim: to help you feel better.
Some people say that talking therapies do not make their problems go away, but they find it easier to cope with them and feel happier. They're often used if you have been diagnosed with a serious mental health condition, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
If you're going through a sad and upsetting time, talking therapies can help you deal with it. This could be after a relative or friend has died, after finding out you have a serious illness, if you're struggling with infertility , or if you have lost your job. People with long-term health conditions are more vulnerable to depression, and talking therapies have been proven to help. These do not always have to be major traumatic experiences, such as divorce, grief, loss, anxiety, job loss, or addiction.
People may wish to discuss themselves in general, exploring their past experiences in order to gain a better understanding of themselves and their thought and behavior patterns. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to dialogue and discussion during talk therapy. The facilitator of a session may ask some questions to help a person get started.
In other cases, the person undertaking the therapy sessions may talk about whatever is on their mind, and the discussion will stem from there. A person should never feel forced or pushed by their therapist to discuss events or experiences they are not yet ready to address. If a therapist asks a question that a person feels uncomfortable answering, the person can simply state that they do not wish to discuss it.
A therapist may try to guide discussions, allowing the person to make connections between experiences, thoughts, and behaviors, but a therapist will not force a person to discuss things they do not wish to discuss. Anyone can potentially benefit from therapy sessions, from those who could use some more clarity and direction in life to people who are struggling with mental health conditions.
This is not an exhaustive or comprehensive list of conditions that might benefit from talk therapy. According to the APA , there are five main categories of psychotherapy or talk therapy.
Behavioral therapy seeks to correct self-destructive or self-loathing behaviors by replacing them with healthier ones. This is a common treatment option for people with:.
CBT primarily helps people identify and correct negative patterns of thought. It may employ techniques such as self-monitoring, mindfulness, and questioning or challenging harmful thoughts. This is a type of therapy that helps patients focus on self-actualization, or living a life that is true to their real self in order to reach fulfillment. Within this type of therapy is client-centered therapy, Gestalt therapy, and existential therapy. Of all five categories, psychodynamic therapy is most synonymous with talk therapy.
It involves diving into the unconscious meanings and motivations of emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in order to analyze what might be driving them. The person undertaking the therapy might have a treatable condition or may need to address a specific distressing circumstance that is driving their reactions.
Learn more about psychodynamic therapy here. There are several types of therapy that fall within these larger categories.
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