What is Therapy for Mental Health, and How Does It Work?

Therapy is a safe space for you to share your thoughts, process past experiences, and express your emotions.

Psychotherapy, counseling, or talk therapy involves meeting with a trained professional to improve emotional health and well-being. People can seek therapy for a variety of reasons, including difficulty managing emotions, stress, problematic behaviors, beliefs, and relationship issues.

A therapy session can occur with just one individual, couple, parent-child duo, entire family or in a group setting. Therapists use a variety of theories or models to guide how they view symptoms, identify the root cause, and find the best way to intervene in session.

What Is Therapy for Mental Health?

Therapy can mean different things to different people. For one person, it can be the first time they say words and stories that have never seen the light of day.

For another, it could be having too many thoughts and feelings and not knowing why or what's happening and needing help untangling, thread by thread. For another, it could be a learning tool to turn visions and castles in their minds into reality.

Or it could also be finally being able to sit down and open your eyes to the pain you had set aside to survive for a long time.

Whether you're dealing with a diagnosed mental illness, daily life stressors, relationship issues, or any mental or emotional health challenge, deciding to begin counseling can be a significant step towards prioritizing mental health and well-being.

You're not alone if you're considering starting therapy. According to studies, 19% of adults receive mental health treatment, with roughly 10% undergoing counseling or therapy.

Fundamentally, counseling is about figuring out how you think, feel, behave, and where those things make you unhappy or make it difficult for you to operate. It focuses on enhancing a person's interactions with the outside environment so that they can respond to the stresses of life with healthy coping mechanisms.

How Does Therapy Work?

Before understanding how therapy works, it's important to debunk this myth. Therapy can be effective even if you don't have any serious emotional or mental health problems.

Therapy can be helpful if you're having trouble, are confused, or feel like you need to organize your life or an issue but don't know where to begin. Here are some ways therapy works:

1) Therapy is Tailor-Made

Depending on what you're going through, the therapy process may change a little. For starters, depending on the problem you want treatment with, the length of therapy can change.

Therapy frequently enables you to resolve the issue within a few months if you're suffering from depression following a breakup or job loss, for instance. Although you might not be fully cured, you should be able to deal with any remaining discomfort on your own.

The need for more treatment sessions and a more rigorous approach may be necessary for serious or persistent issues, such as abuse trauma or chronic depression. Therapy doesn't have a one-size-fits-all approach. Even if two clients are experiencing anxiety, the therapist can work in different ways with them.

2) Can help you reach goals

In counselling, goals can look different for everyone. (Image via Freepik/ JComp)

If you think your therapist will give you direct advice or tell you what to do, you may want to skip therapy altogether (or consider it).

Therapy doesn't operate that way. Instead, therapy provides a secure, non-judgmental setting where you may discuss issues and anything else that is bothering you or even simply making life a little difficult.

Your therapist takes the time to listen to what you have to say before working with you to create a strategy for overcoming obstacles and enhancing your quality of life. If you aren't going through a lot of distress, you can still go to therapy. No matter what the aim is, therapy can be helpful in achieving it.

Perhaps you want to date but don't think you have what it takes to make a relationship work or approach someone. You might want to focus on improving your relationship with your teenagers.

Or perhaps you simply wish to quit your longstanding habit of chewing your nails. Whatever your objective is, your therapist will work with you to examine possible changes you might make to reach the desired result.

3) You can gain control

We all wish to seek control over our mental and physical health. (Image via Freepik/Redgreystock)

You drive the car in therapy. Your therapist can guide you if you get lost or help you get out of the mud if you become stuck. You choose where to go and how to get there, not your therapist.

That's why it's crucial to select a therapist you get along with. By selecting your own therapist, you can get assistance in tailoring your therapy experience, so look for someone you're at ease with.

Counselors are not machines. Over the course of therapy, it's likely that their distinctive personalities, temperaments, and communication patterns emerge. Finding a therapist who encourages you to keep pushing through difficulties, even when it’s unpleasant, is essential.

Therapy often feels uncomfortable, even unpleasant. That's a normal part of the process. A strong working relationship is important for your progress.

Takeaway

Therapy is hard work, and it's quite possible that it may not work for you the first time. The way we keep switching gym classes to find our perfect fit, you may have to do that for therapy as well. Making mental health your priority can help you in the long run.

Janvi Kapur is a counselor with a Master's degree in applied psychology with a specialization in clinical psychology.

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