There are so many misconceptions about therapy that many people are hesitant to reach out for help. These misconceptions though are often untrue and and can prevent people from seeking this form of help when it can actually be incredibly beneficial.
1. Therapy does not mean someone is crazy.
For some reason there is a misbelief that getting help from a professional makes someone crazy or unstable, but this is far from the truth.
Most people who seek therapy are actually normal people who are dealing with a rough time in their lives and for many people, the act of reaching out in this manner means that they are at a point where they are ready to overcome issues. Most people can benefit from therapy.
Therapy is not exclusive to people who are suffering from mental health issues and almost everyone can find it necessary to talk to a professional about situations and get an outside perspective when they are struggling through tough times.
2. Therapy is nothing like what it is portrayed in media to be.
There is no couch that people lay on while a therapist pokes into people's dark thoughts. In fact, many therapists offices do not even have a couch, but instead weirdly comfortable chairs.
This portrayal of therapy is actually incredibly false because there are actually many different types of therapy, from cognitive behavioral therapy that teaches people how build coping mechanisms for problems to regular talk therapy, also known as counseling.
For many people, a combination of these can be used to help them.
3. Not all therapists work for everyone.
This is related to something that I tend to hear a lot when therapy is suggested to someone who is struggling. Many of my friends at first usually say something along the lines of, "I tried that" or "It did not work for me."
When I ask what they mean, it is typically about how they did not like their therapist or they did not like that therapist's approach, but many people do not realize that it is okay to switch therapists until they find someone who works for them. I personally went through two when I first began therapy in high school before I found someone who I was comfortable with and who really started to help me.
People do not always click and that is okay but just like how nobody should give up making friends after not liking one person, nobody should give up getting help after one bad interaction.
4. Therapist are judgemental.
OK, this is not particularly a misconception as much as something that many of my friends who have gone to therapy and that I have feared at some point and I wanted to address.
Therapists have seen and heard a lot, and they are not about to judge anyone for things that they did when they were not in a good place. They are there to help, not to judge. They are not going to go and tell anyone what you have said or done (in fact, it is illegal for them to do so).
The only time they will tell anyone what has been said is if they are explicitly told that someone is going to hurt someone else or themselves, but even that should not discourage anyone from telling a therapist this information, because when they do reach out about this, the only thing it is going to do is increase the help someone is receiving.
Some aspects about therapy can be difficult at times, as asking for help is something that takes courage in the first place, and it can take a while before finding the right team of professionals and the right type of therapy.
After all of that, it can take some work to get to a place where someone feels comfortable revealing personal information about themselves. It took years going in and out of therapy for me to finally begin to tell my therapist everything I needed and begin to really get help.
However most people do not take years and finish up their therapy well before that and almost everyone begins to see benefits from the very first session, but sometimes it can take a while and that is okay. The most important thing though, is that it is worth it.
The process can be long and it can be challenging but once the benefits of therapy begin showing in everyday life, it makes all of the work worth it. There are many misconceptions about mental health and about getting help, but most of these are not true and reaching out for help is something to be proud of.
If you or someone you know is struggling, reach out. It can be hard but is 100% worth it. Check on friends and check on yourself. If unsure where to start, check out https://www.goodtherapy.org/ or simply ask a general health provider, who can provide sources to get help.
