The National Institute of Mental Health defines psychotherapy as “a variety of treatments that aim to help a person identify and change troubling emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.” Therapy has been around for a long time but is really just now starting to become more normalized throughout the world. Many people think that therapy is for someone who experienced something really terrible or who has severe depression. While therapy is, obviously, beneficial for those people, therapy can really be beneficial for anyone! Going back to the definition, we all experience troubling emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Life is hard! And we shouldn’t have to keep it all to ourselves.
There are many benefits of therapy. I believe the main one is having someone who is unbiased to talk to. We often hold back when talking to a loved one in fear of judgment. Or we might need to talk about a relationship and have no one we feel safe to do so with. A therapist is not there to judge or to take sides. A therapist is there for YOU.
Furthermore, as humans, we often feel invalidated in the world. Whether it be by ourselves or other people. A huge part of therapy is being able to identify and share your emotions and being completely validated in what we feel. The more we feel validated, the more we are able to express ourselves freely which can lead to a strong therapeutic relationship.
In addition, another benefit of therapy is learning helpful tools and coping mechanisms that we can put into use in our daily life. A therapist can help you identify where help is needed as well as identifying the right tool to do so. I think some people think that therapy is used as a place to just vent and sulk in your own sorrow. Sure that can be nice but therapists also want to help their clients find ways to heal and move forward. Coping skills can help with that!.
Some other benefits include: processing specific symptoms related to depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders; building confidence and self-esteem; learning communication skills; increasing life satisfaction; setting reasonable and attainable goals; stress management; increasing self-awareness; challenging negative thoughts; navigating life transitions; and more.
Therapy sessions are most commonly about 50 minutes, give or take a few minutes. Sometimes you might have a longer session if it is an intake session or a family/couple’s session, but most commonly it is about an hour. Therapy can be short-term or long-term. This might depend on the person’s agenda for therapy or the therapist’s style. Oftentimes people go to therapy to work on one specific goal or symptom, and when that is worked through then therapy might feel “complete”. However, I feel that usually there are more things to work on as time goes on and life happens. I encourage working with a therapist that can support you in many areas as other things come up in therapy. It is also okay to switch therapists when you decide to target a different “problem”. Therapists do tend to specialize in specific areas, such as trauma, eating disorders, couples and family, substance use, OCD, etc. With that being said, it is okay to feel like you’ve completed the work in one area with one therapist and choose to switch to someone with a different speciality.
Now you might ask, how do you find the right therapist? This can be difficult!
First off, I encourage you to think about what kind of person you’d feel most comfortable working with. A man or a woman. Comparable in age or maybe someone older than you. Maybe someone who shares the same religious or cultural background. Then, of course, finances play a large role in therapy. Can you pay out of pocket? Or do you need to use insurance? A typical out of pocket fee can be anywhere from $100-200, at least in the St. Louis area.
In order to actually search for these therapists that fit your criteria, a great resource is Psychology Today. You can filter all kinds of criteria to find the best fit! If planning to use your insurance, you can also contact your insurance company for providers that are in-network. I encourage you to reach out to 3-5 potential therapists. Unfortunately, not all people will respond, at least in a timely manner. You may find out that financially it is not a good fit or maybe their availability doesn’t work for you. This will help eliminate options. Most therapists offer a free 15-minute phone consultation (I do!) so you can connect over the phone and ask any questions you like! This will hopefully help. You might have been told to “shop around” for the best therapist, and that is okay too! Maybe you schedule a few appointments and decide after the first few sessions. IT IS OKAY if you don’t like a therapist. Not everyone will connect! We aren’t meant to! However, once you find someone that works well, you will know. You will find yourself excited to return. You might also find yourself looking forward to sharing something specific with them. These are all great things and I hope you all can find someone that makes you feel this way!
If you are interested in getting started with therapy and would like to see if we are a good fit, email me at Meghan@FindYourBalanceSTL.com and we can set up a free 15-minute phone consultation.
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