Common Misunderstandings and Myths about Therapy
A sad truth is that there continues to be a very strong stigma against receiving mental health care in our world. People often avoid seeking help because they have misconceptions about what to expect from counseling. We’re passionate about reducing the stigma and lifting the veil. Through our podcasts, blog posts and community engagement, we are always working to educate our community and reduce the stigma of taking care of your mental and cognitive health.
In our years of helping clients, there are some common misconceptions about therapy/counseling/psychotherapy that we wanted to address directly and clear up any mis-information that’s out there.
“Therapy is for people with “major” mental health issues or who are “in crisis”.
Not at all true. Actually, people with considerable mental health concerns are better suited for more intensive treatment options such as partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient programs. Individual outpatient counseling (or regular old talk therapy) is best suited for people who are generally stable and are interested in working on more mild concerns.
Secondly, you certainly don’t have to be “in crisis” to benefit from counseling. Although many people do finally decide to seek therapy after a crisis (major break-up, trauma, loss, relapse, etc), it’s also very beneficial to start working with a therapist when things are mostly going well for you! We all have improvements we can make in our lives, blind spots, bad habits, old traumas to work through. Seeking therapy when we’re feeling good can often give us the motivation we need to finally make positive changes we’ve been wanting to make!
“Who needs therapy when you have great friends to talk to?”
Having the support of great friends and family is invaluable, but therapy is very different from those types of relationships. In personal relationships, the exchange is reciprocal. In therapy, the time spent together is about you, 100%. Therapists are highly trained, professional clinicians with years of experience in diagnosing and treating various emotional, behavioral and relational issues. Therapy is confidential, so you can rest assured that what you share in therapy won’t become a rumor among your friends and family. When talking with friends or family, there can often be ulterior motives under the surface. They may have certain expectations of you, they may want you to make a certain choice based on personal gain, they may sugarcoat or avoid certain topics to protect your feelings. Therapists are a neutral and safe person to share your experiences with.
“I’ve tried therapy before and it didn’t work for me.”
Don’t go into therapy for the first time expecting to find a perfect match right away. You should try out a counselor 3-5 times before making the decision to move on to someone else. Sometimes you need to try a few different counselors before finding someone who’s approach and personality fits your style. Thankfully, many therapists (including us) offer free consults up front so that you can get a better feel for whether the partnership will be a good match for you. Just because you’ve tried it before and it didn’t work for you, don’t give up! Every therapist is vastly different, the right match is out there for you!
“Therapists are like friends that you pay for advice.”
Yeah, no. Again, we are trained and licensed professionals. While the relationship can be very friendly, intimate and connected—the relationship is a professional one and does not extend beyond what is created therapeutically. In fact, our code of ethics forbids “dual relationships” outside of the counseling office—so we are bound to keep our relationship with our clients strictly professional.
Secondly, we are trained to actually refrain from offering advice. If you are seeking counseling to have someone “tell you what to do”, you will likely be very disappointed. We work to empower our clients, to help them develop their own sense of resourcefulness and ability to navigate challenges on their own.
“Therapists can prescribe medication.”
The only providers who can prescribe medications are medical doctors (psychiatrists) and other medical professionals (such as a nurse practitioner or physician assistant). Those types of providers very rarely provide counseling or therapy to their patients, they serve as the prescriber for medication needs and they most often refer out to have them see a psychologist or masters-level professional counselor for therapy. Psychologists and professional counselors do not have the ability to prescribe medications.
“Therapy should make me feel better after every session.”
You ever hear the saying “things get worse before they get better”? This can be the case with counseling at times. Especially if we are dealing with past traumas, things will likely need to surface and be reprocessed before the person can move forward and feel better. Yes, most of the time clients will leave feeling lighter, happier, more optimistic—but not always. It can be hard to make change, to reflect on difficult experiences, to face tough choices. It’s not always easy. But one thing we can offer you is the support and accountability to make positive changes in your life and the skills necessary to face tough challenges when they come up.
Written by: Britney Cirullo, MA, LPCC-S, LICDC, BCN