Benefits of Therapy
*Disclaimer: therapy is not a guarantee or a “cure”, and will look different for everyone. The following article is a general guideline about the potential benefits of therapy based on empirical evidence.
While there has currently been more open dialogue surrounding mental health and more widespread acceptance, a lot of stigma and stereotypes still remain. Unfortunately, one of the most pervasive stigmas in our society today is therapy. But as a therapist, I’m here to tell you that these stereotypes about therapy simply aren’t true.
You’re not “crazy” if you’re in therapy. You don’t need a diagnosis to benefit from therapy. You also don’t have to have experienced a traumatic event. Therapy can be beneficial to anyone struggling with their mental health, life transitions, or problems in their relationships. You don’t have to take medication, but it’s absolutely okay if you do (if you’re prescribed it, of course.)
Your therapist is an unbiased and judgement-free professional that you can share thoughts, fears, feelings, and experiences with.
We’re here to support and empower you. Sometimes that may mean gently challenging you in order to identify problematic thoughts, beliefs, and behaviours.
But therapy is ultimately about meeting you where you are to promote your health and well-being. You will have the chance to learn healthy coping strategies and develop a deeper understanding of yourself. Therapy also helps you recognize and build upon strengths you already possess.
Therapy can:
improve interpersonal relationships
improve communication skills
increase self-esteem and self-confidence
improve self-awareness and self-conceptualization
help you set goals and improve time-management
improve mental health
increase healthy coping and resiliency
help you process life experiences
support you through grieving a loss
In couples or family therapy, your therapist or therapists (sometimes these sessions are co-facilitated, depending on how many clients are in attendance) are there to help teach, facilitate, and mediate healthy communication.
Together you’ll identify communication breakdowns and practice productive alternatives. Again, this doesn’t have to be a last-resort approach to saving relationships. It can be a great opportunity to strengthen or improve what already exists. Through these exercises and communication, your family can begin to heal and re-connect.
Now more than ever, therapy is becoming more accessible. Many practices offer a sliding scale or limited pro bono (aka free) programs for financial need. In Ontario, there is publicly funded therapy available through OHIP (although that waitlist does continue to be lengthy as psychologists and psychiatrists are limited) as well as shorter wait lists for psychological diagnosis or assessment in recent months.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in widespread use of the Telehealth network to provide more virtual options, such as video or telephone appointments. More practices are also making sure to account for accessibility in the design of our resources, practice, and spaces (both physical and virtual).
Your therapist is also a professional with years of education and continual professional training.
They are regulated by a professional body to keep them accountable and ensure best practices. You will have not only support, but qualified expertise in how to meet your goals and change your life, which is truly what sets therapy apart from just using the support of loved ones.
Ultimately, therapy will be what you make it. If you attend sessions regularly and really put what you and your therapist discuss into practice, therapy can be incredibly transformative. If you just want your session to be a place for you to talk, express your thoughts and emotions, and have someone listen without judgement - therapy is a space for that, too. But if therapy is just a passive experience for you, it probably won’t benefit you as much.
Whether it’s healing, growth, or support you’re looking for, therapy is a service for everyone.
