Does Therapy Actually Work?

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I get this question all the time from parents and their kids alike, and it often goes

like this: “I’m just paying you to sit and talk, so what’s the point?” It’s a fair question, and

I can see why it looks that way.

Therapy is not just talking. It has the potential to help you explore, identify, and

change any patterns that aren’t working for you. Therapists are trained professionals

who use a variety of researched techniques to help you feel more like yourself again

and build a life that actually feels manageable. Therapists are on your side, providing

education, insight, or even just support.

What Therapy Is… and Isn’t

Therapy is

● A place to understand yourself better

● A space to feel heard

● A way to learn new skills And therapy is not

● Just venting

● A quick fix

● Someone telling you what to do

Do I Really Need Therapy?

That’s ultimately up to you. Therapy has been shown to be effective for a number

of different conditions, including:

● General life stress

● Relationship issues

● Trauma

● Grief

● Various mental health conditions (Think anxiety, depression, personality

disorders)

● Addictions

● Various behavioral conditions (like ADHD)

However, therapy is not magic. Just like a treatment you get at the hospital might

not work for you, it is possible that therapy won’t work very well either. This could be

due to a number of reasons. It could be that your therapist isn’t a good fit for you;

maybe the way they do therapy just doesn’t connect in your brain, or maybe you just

don’t feel comfortable with them. It could be that your concerns have a biological

component that needs to be addressed with a doctor-–but this is often best done with

therapy instead of in place of therapy. Lastly, therapy works best when you’re able to

engage with it—even in small ways. Your therapist brings tools and support, but change

happens when those tools start showing up in your real life.

Okay, So What Kind of Therapy Do I Do Then?

Another good question.

There are lots of different approaches to therapy. Here are some of the more

common ones:

● Person-Centered Therapy: The aim of the therapist that practices this type

of therapy is to provide a fully supportive, non-judgmental environment

that helps you gain clarity.

● Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT comes with lots of different

tools and methods that can be utilized by lots of different therapists.

However, strict CBT is a regimented, goal-directed approach. It helps you

explore how your thoughts and emotions are connected and how they

impact your behaviors, and gives you tools for developing more helpful

thinking patterns and for managing your emotions.

● Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT): DBT is a type of CBT that also

includes mindfulness work and distress tolerance.

Psychodynamic Therapy: This kind of therapy believes that unconscious

thoughts and past experiences–especially in childhood–play a big role in

our current lives.

● Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT focuses on helping

you accept uncomfortable thoughts, emotions, and experiences, and

figuring out what you can actually do about it.

Here’s a secret: Research suggests that what matters most isn’t the specific type

of therapy, but rather the relationship with your therapist and feeling understood. That

being said, certain approaches can be especially helpful for specific concerns. It’s okay

to try out different therapists and approaches to find what feels right.

Great, So How Does It Work?

Our brains are always changing because we are always experiencing life. Years

of research has found that many of the problems that bring people into therapy are

connected to something in our brains (for example, anxiety is often connected to the

brain’s threat system being on high alert, even when you’re safe). The good news is that

if we can experience things that change our brain in unhealthy ways, we can also create

experiences that change our brain in healthy ways!

The kind of therapy you do often determines what interventions your therapist

uses, and thus what parts of your brain are most affected. Therapy can help you make

changes in your brain by providing helpful skills for dealing with difficult emotions,

helping you gain insight into your past that alters how you view yourself in the present,

and increase your confidence to handle life outside of therapy.

Therapy is not always a quick fix. Some people feel better after a single session.

Decades of research– including from the American Psychological Association—shows

that therapy helps most people feel better and function better over time.

Sometimes therapy stirs things up before it settles things down. Talking about

things you’ve avoided—or seeing them in a new way—can feel overwhelming at first.

That doesn’t mean something is wrong; it often means something important is shifting.

Bottom Line

Therapy isn’t magic—but it is one of the most reliable ways we know to help

people feel better, understand themselves more deeply, and handle life with more

confidence.

If you’ve been wondering whether it might help you or your child, it’s okay to start

with a single conversation. And, if you’re located near Bloom Counseling Services here

in Plainfield Indiana, give us a call, and we’ll be happy to help you take the first steps!