Why seek psychotherapy?

Why seek psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy describes a collaborative relationship between a therapist and their patient where the goal is to provide support and coping skills to patients feeling overwhelmed by a range of different issues. These patients may be experiencing anything from chronic mental illness, to weight loss difficulties, to overcoming substance abuse. Psychotherapy counseling can be provided by various mental health professionals: licensed social workers, licensed mental health counselors, psychologists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, amongst a variety of other specialized counselors and psychiatric professionals. The techniques used by these psychotherapists is nearly as varied as the issues they are designed to treat, some of the most common include: cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, gentle reprocessing (trauma), solution-focused brief therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy, shortened as CBT, is perhaps the most well-known, and most often used standard therapeutic technique. CBT treatment includes identifying the initial cognition experienced by the patient when exposed to any situation causing distressful feelings. The patient and clinician then attempt to expose and alter these reactions to create insight into our minds’ often over the top interpretation of stimuli, whether it be from other people or random life incidences, to become more aware, and mindful, to how our minds work and how to cope with it. As previously mentioned, psychotherapy can be used to treat short term difficulties, such as divorce, grieving a death, school/work pressure, weight loss, etc. and long term afflictions, like depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, chronic physical illness, insomnia, attention deficit disorders, and more. Because psychotherapy is a relatively new form of treatment, due to mental health being a fairly new concern in the health professions, not as much information on long term efficacy of some of these modalities and solutions exist. However, psychotherapy in general has proved to be extremely helpful with cases of all of the previously mentioned issues because it provides an unbiased, experienced, supportive outside role to consult on matters that perhaps no one else in your life could in quite the same, neutral manner.

 

SOURCES:

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/understanding-psychotherapy.aspx

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/raising-resilient-children/201209/the-benefits-psychotherapy

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