I am amazed at how often friends, family members, or just acquaintances share with me during everyday conversation that they have been prescribed some kind of medication to address their symptoms of anxiety or depression, grief, or trauma.
I have been in awe—
At times, I had inquired if, when having a conversation with the prescriber (usually either their primary care doctor, or a specialist, such as an OBGYN) about the available alternatives to address the symptoms that they were experiencing the doctors had also discussed the option starting therapy. More often than not, the answer I got was “No.”
Don’t get me wrong, I have the utmost respect for the medical profession and I know that medication has a place in helping people with their emotional well-being. I am, however, puzzled about how often I hear that there is not even a conversation around the multiple ways in which these symptoms may be addressed.
I fully understand that taking medication or working through a particular set of symptoms in therapy (or on your own, for that matter) are different routes, all with their advantages and potential drawbacks. And we know they are not mutually exclusive. In fact, research does show that for certain sets of symptoms, depending upon the type and the severity, a combination of medication and therapy may be the treatment of choice.
I am all for people making their own decisions about how they want to address their psychological pain. I would just love to see more conversations around the option of pursuing therapy to address symptoms ranging from mild discomfort to severe anxiety or depression, either alone or in conjunction with medication.
You may be thinking—well, of course you would advocate for therapy-- you are a psychologist!—and, yes, you are absolutely right :)
At the same time, my views and beliefs are rooted in my own experience as a clinician and that of so many colleagues who so often have the privilege of bearing witness of the benefits that therapy can bring about. Formal research has also backed up the experience that us as clinicians have individually in our offices-- Therapy has been shown to be effective in addressing a very wide of psychological symptoms or conditions (1, 2). Being in this field and having worked with many people who have been able to effectively work through their grief, anxiety, sadness, or depression, (just to name a few of the most common issues that people seek therapy for) by the means of being engaged in therapy makes me both confident and hopeful that therapy can go a long way in helping people achieve and maintain a sense of emotional balance and harmony in their lives.
In an effort to speak about therapy in a more tangible way, I outlined below 7 key potential benefits that therapy can bring about—these are just some of the benefits that patients can experience when they are engaged and committed to their own therapy:
1. A sense of confidence and trust in themselves and in their ability to work through and, to different degrees, “master” symptoms or situations that they initially thought were extremely difficult, or even impossible to manage.
2. Additional emotional resources in terms of coping with the challenges that life presents us with. Are there alternative ways of perceiving what is happening right now? Can I think of ways in which I may respond that would lead (eventually) to outcomes that are more aligned with what I want for myself? The therapist may or may not ask these questions directly, but the work, in and of itself, often triggers reflection on questions that are similar to the ones mentioned above.
3. Additional coping skills: you may learn about mindfulness practices, or relaxation training, or about the relationship between our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, or specific strategies aimed at managing symptoms, as well as ways in which these practices/ strategies can be incorporated in your daily life.
4. For those who have had the burden of keeping a “secret,” that is, of having had experiences that they have not been able to talk to anyone about, the relief of feeling that you can, in a safe place, start to put words to these experiences can have a significant positive impact in your well-being.
5. Patients often learn to be in contact with painful feelings, or uncomfortable emotions, and still be present—this is key for our emotional well-being—to learn how to sit with pain and not avoid it. And we do know avoidance fuels so many psychological symptoms.
6. Patients often learn, through the process of therapy, to contain their most difficult emotions, and, as a result, these emotions tend to become less overwhelming, less daunting, less debilitating and less scary. Patients tend to become more confident in their ability to manage these emotions inside and eventually outside of the therapy room.
7. Patients have the opportunity to develop a close relationship with an attuned other (therapist)—and how important this relationship can be! Many patients/ clients have not had a close emotionally attuned person in their lives. That does not mean that people have not loved them. Loving someone and being able to be attuned to them are different things. Having the steady presence of a caring, attuned, emotionally present therapist, within the context of the therapeutic relationship, can help us modulate and regulate our emotions so that they become less stressful and frightening, and overall less powerful.
I can probably go on :)
I want to end by thanking you, the reader, for “hearing” this voice who really wants to share with the world the multiple benefits that therapy may bring about.
It is also true that in therapy there are potential “risks” as well, such as the risk that therapy may not be as effective as you thought it would be, or that it would take longer than expected, or that strong emotions that were not present at the time of starting therapy emerge as therapy unfolds.
While these are all true, there are also ways to minimize these risks—in my experience taking your time when looking for a therapist, investing time in learning about the therapists you are considering—carefully reading their websites, learning about them in other places (i.e, do they have a blog or a Facebook page?), and eventually meeting in person to see how you feel with them in the therapy room, are all key ways to maximize the chances of choosing a therapist that would be a good fit for you.
Another common objection I hear about therapy goes something like this: “But therapy takes time and money!” And it is true—therapy is an investment in your own (or your child’s) emotional well-being, and we will likely only give it a chance if we believe that the potential benefits are more valuable than its “risks.”
I could share my views on this and say that therapy can be one of the best investments that one can make as measured by the the emotional wellness that it can bring about both for the patient and for his/ her loved ones and the future pain that it can help to prevent in areas such as relationships, work, and even physical health. But we need to see for ourselves.
If you are even a tad more open to considering therapy as an avenue for personal growth or to address the psychological pain you may be experiencing, I consider my intentions in writing this blog post completely fulfilled.
A pill can help you manage painful symptoms—but my wish for you is even more encompassing—that you can come out of this process strengthened and more confident, more hopeful and more at peace with yourself and with the world.
To your well being,
Claudia
Click here to learn more about what therapy with Dr. Claudia Perolini, Licensed Psychologist, looks like.
You can learn more about my work with anxiety at drperolini.com/anxiety-counseling and in the area of depression at drperolini.com/depression-counseling
References
(1)Seligman, M.E.P. (1995) The Effectiveness of psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 50, 965–974. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/dpelcovitz/psychotherapyeffectiveness.doc
(2) Shedler, J. (2010). The efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 65, 98-109. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-65-2-98.pdf
Claudia Perolini, PhD is a psychologist in Weston, Florida. She specializes in helping adults and adolescents who are struggling with anxiety, depression, or the effects of trauma live fuller and more rewarding lives.
Dr. Perolini enjoys writing on her blog about issues that she believes may be of interest to individuals who are curious about life, and interested in topics that may provide them with valuable knowledge or insight about this journey that we are all in: LIFE.
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