Many people get an idea of what psychotherapy is from what they heard or from what they saw on TV or in movies.
This can lead to getting wrong ideas on what happens in the study of a psychotherapist, above all because most of the representations of this treatment are simply made to laugh.
Let’s see you are sure you know reality instead of keeping some false “myths”in order to be able to focus on what really a psychological work can offer, because one thing is certain: those who undertake a psychotherapy deal with a whole series of personal growth issues because they want to improve their quality of life.
Myth #1: if I go to the psychologist I am “weak”, or “crazy”!
Reality: only in the United States 14.8 million people suffer from depression and about 40 million adult Americans suffer from some form of anxiety.
Despite the impressive quantity of people who report to suffer from some type of psychological distress, our society continues to stigmatize these disorders and the therapy and stigma linked to seeking help for psychological or behavioral problems is a strong deterrent for people.
But remember that as we see things is also a matter of perspective. People turn to a psychologist for many and different reasons.
Some undertake psychotherapy for the treatment of a depression, for problems of anxiety or abuse of substances; Others are completely healthy but they feel they need to be helped to face important changes of life such as the loss of work, a divorce, the death of a loved one.
Still others need help to deal with problems that concern their behaviors and everyday life: the management of parental, work and family responsibilities, to face a disease, improve their relational skills or the management of stress factors that can influence almost all of us. And fortunately seeking adequate help is increasingly seen as a sign of resourcefulness because anyone can benefit from psychotherapy.
The reality is in fact that it provides useful and positive tools to increase one’s awareness on how we make our life choices, as it provides effective coping skills to manage everyday challenges.
The fact remains that the search for a therapy is an act of courage, because it leads to the inventory of ourselves, on a self-exploration journey that leads to a better understanding of how and why we do what we do.
It is therefore an important act of taking charge of our well-being, when ever as now the researchers continue to find new scientific results that highlight the importance of taking care of their mental and emotional health to ensure good physical health (mind-body relationship).
Emotional problems can present symptoms like physicists, as well as when we are physically sick, we can develop emotional problems.
Myth #2: talking to family members or friends is as effective as going to the psychotherapist.
Reality: the support of family and friends is of fundamental importance when a difficult period is going through. But what is able to offer a psychotherapist is much more.
Psychotherapists have years of specialized education, training and experience that make them experts experts in understanding and in the treatment of complex problems. And research shows that psychotherapy is effective and useful.
The techniques and skills that a psychotherapist uses during psychotherapy have developed and refined over decades of research on the clinic, now also supported by an important amount of research of neuroscience on the complex function of the brain and the nervous system. It is therefore much more than “just talking and listening.”
Psychotherapists are able to recognize models of thought and behavior in an objective way, that the people closest to you may have stopped noticing or of which they may never notice.
In addition, the psychotherapist can apparently offer comments or observations similar to those who make people close to you in everyday life, but their help can be effective for the timing with which these observations are made, for the possibility of focusing on the problem and connected dynamics and for the experience of trust in the neutral position of the professional.
Another important consideration to do is that with your psychotherapist it is much easier to speak in freedom and honestly. First of all because the professional relationship is based on confidentiality, so there is no concern that someone learns what we have spoken of. But also because not being a loved one we do not even have the concern as well as the judgment, the possibility of being in weight and making someone suffer to which we love. It is not uncommon for people to often tell their psychotherapists things that have never felt they reveal to anyone.
Myth #3: You can improve alone if you really try and keep a positive attitude.
Reality: taking care of one’s mental health is not just a matter of reasoning with ourselves and with the power of the mind.
Many people have tried to solve their problems alone for weeks, months or even years before starting psychotherapy, but they discovered that it is not enough.
Deciding to start psychotherapy does not mean that you have failed, just as it does not mean that you have failed if you are not able to repair your car yourself! The psychotherapist helps to understand and access resources and strengths that we would not be able to discover and learn to use alone.
In addition, there may be a biological component for some disorders, such as depression or panic attacks, which make it incredibly difficult to heal alone.
In reality, having the courage to recognize that you need help is a sign of strength and not weakness and it is the first step towards feeling better.
Myth #4: Psychologists simply listen to you and make you vent, so why pay someone just because you listen to your complaints?
Reality: at the beginning of the therapy path, the psychotherapist asks to describe the problem he brought you to his study, but listening is only the starting point.
It will also be able to collect relevant information on past life, as well as the history of problems and other important areas of your life, and the ways in which you have tried to deal with problems in the course of life. But what they listen finds meaning in accordance with the science they have studied.
And psychotherapy is typically an interactive and collaborative process, based on dialogue and the patient’s active commitment in the work together.
Your psychotherapist guides you on the road that leads to change, can give homework so that you can make “experiments” or practice and consolidate new skills between one session and the other or can indicate useful readings to learn more about a particular topic.
Patient and psychotherapist identify together the problems, their origins, set goals, walk side by side along the therapeutic path and monitor progress.
Myth #5: The psychotherapist will attribute all your problems to your parents or childhood experiences.
Reality: explore their childhood experiences and the significant events that have affected their lives and how we have evolved as people is certainly an important component of psychotherapy.
Information concerning one’s family context and significant life events helps to understand our way of perceiving and feeling, their current strategies in the face of events and helps to see the models of thought and behavior that have developed over the years.
Bringing the person to look back is aimed at better understanding the present and this understanding and awareness can be the starting point to make positive changes for the future.
However, in some cases, the psychotherapist can evaluate that it is appropriate to concentrate mainly on the current problem or on the crisis that has led to therapy, without dedicating too much time to deepen the past. You learn how to integrate techniques and how to use tools to change thoughts or behaviors that contribute to the current problem.
Psychotherapists who use an eclectic style of psychotherapy know how to guide the meetings including “discoveries” and reflections on the past with connections and reflections on thoughts, emotions or problematic behaviors in the present.
Myth #6: The psychotherapist will give me advice.
Reality: in no other field of health as in psychotherapy is it important that the patient is an active participant and if this does not happen, the therapy will be unsuccessful. Psychotherapy is a collaboration between the patient and the therapist.
The therapist rarely, if never, offers advice to the patient. This is not the role of therapy or therapist. What the psychotherapy can do successfully is to act as a mirror for the patient, so that it can more clearly re-discover and re-core himself.
By refraining from giving advice, the therapist allows the person to obtain a greater sense of empowerment and responsibility.
A good therapeutic experience should not favor an addiction, but to work for the patient’s ability to assume full responsibility for one’s life.
Myth #7: I will stay in Psychotherapy forever!
Reality: everyone moves at a different rhythm during psychotherapy, it is a very personal and individualized process.
Some studies highlight how many patients who undertake therapeutic paths Evidence Based report an improvement already after about ten sessions and many others starting from the six months of therapy. The duration of the therapy depends a lot on the patient’s objectives, on his motivation, on the severity of the problem.
It is certainly a fundamental part of the path to face together in the initial sessions the development of a treatment plan and the sharing of the objectives. And it is equally important to have in mind that the goal of the psychotherapist is not to maintain a patient forever, but to help people acquire skills to work best!
