Six Benefits Of Therapy
People choose to seek therapy for diverse reasons, and there are many benefits to seeing a mental health professional. Talk therapy can support improved communication skills and help clients develop coping strategies for mental health conditions. Whether you’re already in therapy, considering seeing a psychologist, or considering trying online therapy for mental health symptoms, understanding the potential benefits of psychotherapy and its foundations is helpful when learning about its various benefits.
A brief overview of psychotherapy
To summarize, psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy, is a mental health care option that involves working with a specialist to treat various mental health issues including, but not limited to, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, eating disorders, addiction, daily stressors, substance abuse issues, and relationship challenges.
Using evidence-based practices, psychotherapists help clients develop an effective treatment plan and coping skills to manage their specific mental health condition. The treatment and its outcomes depend largely on the individual, their unique challenges, and their goals.
But therapy isn't just for people looking to receive treatment for mental illness; many American adults find therapy beneficial for coping with the challenges of daily life, including struggles with relationships, significant life events, and more, and they use the BetterHelp therapeutic process to improve their holistic well-being.
When working with a therapist, whether in individual, group, or couples therapy, it’s important to find one who you feel comfortable with. Your therapist should focus their time and energy on the treatment process and your communication during sessions. The improvements that come from therapy can take different amounts of time depending on your situation.
1. Learning healthy coping mechanisms
A licensed psychologist works with clients to develop coping strategies for mental health challenges. The ability to meet and move beyond these challenges in a healthy, positive, and constructive manner is essential for healing and relieving the symptoms associated with mental health issues. Developing healthy coping skills isn’t only appropriate for individuals experiencing a mental illness. All humans face difficult challenges in life that may seem overwhelming at times; anyone can benefit from learning to handle them effectively.
2. Contributing to your support system
Part of a therapist’s job is to help clients feel supported and less isolated in coping with their challenges. Whether it’s literally or figuratively when we feel like we’re facing our problems alone, not only can they be more difficult to overcome, but the feelings of isolation may add to them. This can cause more symptoms of mental illness, including the manifestation of physical symptoms. Along with friends and family members, your therapist can contribute to your support system by actively listening, asking appropriate questions, and then working with you on a treatment plan.
3. Meeting your goals
Throughout the process of treatment, you and your therapist can work together to help set the life goals that you’d like to achieve. Your therapist will also assist you on your journey of reaching and fulfilling these life goals. This can be an impactful part of therapy that not only provides the reward of accomplishment but also sets you up for continued success. Accomplishing goals contributes to healthy self-esteem and increased confidence. This plays a pivotal role in treatment for many.
4. Overcoming past trauma
If issues from the past, particularly those related to traumatic events, are not addressed, they can linger and adversely impact your day-to-day life. Overcoming past trauma is not always easy, but it is possible if you work with a therapist.
If you are experiencing trauma, support is available. Please see our Get Help Now page for more resources.
It’s natural to feel hesitant or uneasy about discussing prior traumas and upsetting events. For some, current difficulties may be the result of prior difficulties or trauma, and by addressing that root cause, you may be better equipped to move forward. It will likely take time, but with dedication and willingness, and with the help of your therapist, you can move past prior difficulties and see benefits in the present.
5. Improve relationships and develop better conflict resolution skills
Improving your relationships with yourself and others can take time, but this can be one benefit of working with a therapist. For many, relationships have such an intimate tie with our quality of life and who we are as people. Healthy relationships can make us better people, while unhealthy relationships may contribute to our mental health issues.
The benefits of therapy are not limited to your relationships with others but also yourself. This sets the tone for how you will interact with others and how you’ll communicate. Therefore, having a healthy relationship with yourself is essential to having healthy and full relationships with others.
For many, optimal quality of life means enjoying positive, mutually beneficial relationships. If you’re experiencing difficulties with relationships, family therapy, and group therapy can help you identify the issues causing conflict and build and maintain healthy relationships in all aspects of life.
6. Managing difficult emotions in a healthy way
When clients work with a therapist, one of the main goals is to eliminate deeply ingrained self-destructive habits and reactionary behaviors around emotions such as anger and resentment. Feelings like these are natural for humans, but not everyone handles them the same. For some, their reaction to these feelings can cause problems in key relationships, day-to-day life, and other important areas. In many cases, therapy involves helping individuals isolate and understand the source of difficult emotions and providing various constructive options for handling them. Dialectical behavior therapy is one type of therapy that can be particularly beneficial for individuals experiencing intense emotions.
Along your journey, you may notice additional benefits of therapy which are not on this list. There are some common benefits that virtually everyone experiences with mental health therapy, and then there may be therapy benefits tailored to your unique experience that become apparent with time. It is important to understand that your therapy goals may need to follow the SMART Goal model. If however, you are not sure what to specifically achieve from the therapy, the therapists will help you discover the goals you want to obtain.
Therapy is helpful for treating mental health concerns like anxiety, stress, depression, addiction, and more. But it’s important to note that not everyone experiences these problems the same way, and the therapeutic process of treatment is unique for each person. The therapeutic treatment approach best suited to your needs will likely depend on the therapeutic relationship with your therapist, your preferences, and your challenges.
The stigma associated with therapy is quickly changing, and reaching out for help with navigating life’s challenges is becoming more and more common. The attitude that asking for mental health help, wanting therapy, or needing therapy indicates a personal failure has shifted as more people have come to understand that therapy is beneficial for a variety of situations and doesn’t indicate “sickness” or “weakness.” In fact, seeking and utilizing therapy often takes a good deal of courage and strength.
Benefits of online therapy
An increasingly large amount of research points to online counseling or online therapy as an effective form of treatment. In one broad-based report, researchers examined the benefits of online therapy for individual therapy when applied to a range of issues. In one study, researchers found internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy to be just as effective as in-person CBT for anxiety and depression. Researchers also found that the online course of treatment required less time than in-person treatment.
Takeaway
What is the purpose of therapy?
The purpose of therapy typically depends on the individual’s unique situation, but, for the most part, it is to help individuals address and overcome personal challenges, improve their mental health and well-being, and develop coping strategies to navigate life’s difficulties. Therapy provides a safe, supportive environment for individuals to explore their thoughts and feelings, gain insight into their patterns and beliefs, and work towards positive change. Therapists can also provide guidance, advice, and tools to help individuals manage stress, improve relationships, and enhance their overall quality of life.
How does therapy change you?
With time, therapy might change an individual’s subjective experiences, such as their worldview, sense of self, and relationships with others. Studies also suggest that therapy can change our neurophysiology. For example, one recent study revealed that after cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), adolescents with anxiety showed changes in functioning within some regions of the brain.
Research also indicates that CBT and exposure interventions may be associated with decreased biological responses to stress and inflammation in people with panic disorder. Advancements in neuroscience show that our life experiences affect our neuroplasticity (how our brains are wired)— including the experiences we have with therapy.
Does therapy make your life better?
With treatment adherence and a solid patient/therapist relationship, therapy can make your life better in many ways:
- Therapy can reacquaint us with our values, beliefs, and motivations— potentially revealing things we weren’t aware of.
- It can help you strengthen your relationships.
- It can help you gain new perspectives on things you might be struggling with and pave the way for new solutions.
- Therapy can help you cope with distressing feelings and learn to manage them in daily life.
- We can learn more effective communication skills in therapy.
- With therapy, we might learn to handle change better.
- Therapy can teach you how to let go of old behavior patterns that no longer serve you and establish new ones that do.
Why is therapy interesting?
Therapy is interesting in several ways. It can shed light on how the human brain functions and how our environment impacts that. Therapy is also interesting because it can give us insight into our relationships, worldview, and sense of self. Therapy teaches us new ways of thinking and understanding our feelings. Additionally, therapy can offer new ways of thinking about human nature and how we fit into the world.
There are also many types of therapy focusing on a wide variety of specialties. For example, some people find organizational psychology interesting because they enjoy learning about how human nature and motivation influence a company’s performance. Other people may be interested in criminal psychology and how mental health influences criminal behaviors.
Sports therapy, educational therapy, and therapy for substance abuse and addictions are other examples of specialized areas in psychology that people might find interesting.
How do I know if I need therapy?
Many people feel overwhelmed with stress or feel down sometimes but are able to cope with it until it passes and move on. In some cases, however, psychological distress might be too much to manage, and we might require mental health treatment from a professional. Here are a few indications that you might need therapy:
- When you aren’t able to cope with and recover from challenges in healthy ways.
- If you have persistent feelings of psychological discomfort, regardless of whether or not there is an apparent cause.
- When distressing feelings interfere with your functioning in life or cause complications in your relationships.
- You feel tired and unmotivated much of the time.
- You’re experiencing disruptions in appetite or sleep patterns.
- If you no longer find pleasure in doing things you once enjoyed.
- You struggle to stay productive in work, school, or other scenarios.
- If you begin isolating yourself and avoid social interactions.
- If you’ve experienced trauma.
Why do people seek therapy?
People seek therapy for a wide variety of reasons depending on their unique circumstances. Some reasons why people seek therapy include:
- To address mental health concerns
Many people turn to therapy to address mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, or eating disorders. In treatment, individuals can gain insight into their condition, learn to manage symptoms, and develop coping strategies
- To heal from trauma
Therapy can help individuals process and heal from trauma, abuse, or other difficult experiences in their past. With care, individuals may reduce the impact of such experiences on their mental health and well-being.
- To address relationship issues
Therapy can be helpful for people experiencing difficulties in their relationships, whether with romantic partners, family members, friends, or colleagues. Therapy can guide people in improving communication, resolving conflicts, and building stronger relationships.
- To cope with significant life transitions
Significant life changes like divorce, job loss, or the death of a loved one can be challenging to navigate. Therapy can provide guidance and support throughout such changes, helping individuals cope and adjust.
- For personal growth and self-exploration
Some seek therapy as a way to explore their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It might contribute to greater self-awareness and encourage personal growth and self-improvement.
What is most important in therapy?
Each person has their own reasons for going to therapy, and what is most important to you might not be a priority for someone else. However, research repeatedly shows that the relationship between the therapist and client is the most critical factor in effective treatment.
Why is in-person therapy better?
There are pros and cons to both conventional in-person therapy and online therapy. While research suggests that online cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) is as effective in treating mental health disorders such as anxiety disorders, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), it might not be suitable for everyone.
For example, individuals with more severe mental health conditions like schizophrenia may require in-person mental health treatment. Individuals might prefer to speak with their therapist in an office away from potential distractions in the home. Some people might also prefer a more comprehensive therapeutic experience where they can read their therapist’s body language and gauge their responses in person.
Can I go to therapy if nothing is wrong?
Yes, going to therapy, even if you don’t have a mental health issue, can be beneficial in many ways. For example, some people choose to seek guidance from a life coach for support in achieving a goal or for self-betterment. People may decide to go to family therapy or couples therapy to maintain healthy relationships with their loved ones. Some individuals enjoy talk therapy simply for the opportunity to voice their thoughts and feelings in a safe, non-judgmental space.
Is therapy the only way to heal?
Therapy is recommended in many circumstances for people experiencing trauma or mental health challenges. However, it is possible for some people to heal without it. Strategies like practicing mindfulness, journaling, and utilizing self-help resources can encourage change and help individuals cope with mental health issues.
Self-care techniques like regular exercise, a nutritious diet, and healthy sleep can help individuals manage some of the symptoms that accompany psychological challenges. So can spending time doing things that bring you pleasure and maintaining a healthy support system of friends, family, loved ones, and trusted peers.
- Previous Article
- Next Article