What issues can therapy help with? What kind of people seek therapy? What should I expect in therapy? These are just a few of the many frequently asked questions about therapy. Some patients may not feel comfortable asking these questions directly to a practitioner, while others do.
For those who do not, this post may be a good starting place to begin gaining more insight into therapy. The best place to start with when answering these questions is to first explain the overall purpose of therapy. The goal of therapy is individualized to the client themselves, as a part of the practitioner’s job is to start where the patient is. The role of the therapist is also to provide the client with the tools in order to achieve their goals.
There are a number of reasons a person may choose to begin therapy from anger management, depression, anxiety, grief, and behavioral concerns.Some client’s simply choose therapy to have an unbiased person to aid them in navigating life challenges. However, in the event a client may not have an initial specific goal in therapy, they can work with the practitioner to create goals along with a treatment plan.
When looking at the kind of people who go to therapy, practitioners see a variety of people from all walks of life. Anyone of almost any age can go to therapy for mental health services. Concerns related to religious or cultural beliefs can be catered to in sessions as well as an ethical value of practitioners is to be culturally competent. Some clients may have a preference on whether they prefer to see a man or women, which is normal and we work with our client’s to have this preference met.
When seeking mental health services most facilities will require initial paperwork to be completed along with an initial assessment. This appointment may feel uncomfortable, especially if you have never been in therapy or spoken with a mental health practitioner before. Have no fear, this is time for you and the practitioner to discuss your concerns and enable the practitioner to learn potential needs in therapy. Then the next step in the process is the client and practitioner working together to create a treatment plan. A treatment plan is exactly how it sounds, including overall goals for treatment, objectives and the interventions the therapist will utilize.
Therapists utilize various different types of therapy models with clients. Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT is a very common type of talk therapy that focuses on the connection between our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, by aiding the client in becoming more aware of the negative thought patterns they experience and challenging them. This type of therapy is evidence based and utilized to treat diagnoses of Anxiety, Depression, OCD, Bipolar disorder and others. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy or DBT, is a more skills based type of therapy, designed to provide skills to clients to better manage/regulate intense emotions and navigate interpersonal relationships. This type of therapy specifically focuses on mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal skills. Similarly to CBT, Dialectical behavioral therapy is used to treat personality disorder, PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, Substance use disorder and others.
Having questions is normal, it is a method we use in our daily lives to gain information and at times the information we gain when we ask questions can allow us to make decisions to better ourselves. If you are feeling stuck in life, struggling with your mental health, or even struggling parenting a child with behavioral concerns, therapy could be the right choice for you. As practitioners our goal is to see all client’s progress and achieve their goals, even if it takes time. Remember when you choose to start your therapy journey that our problems usually do not arise overnight so we can always resolve them overnight.