7 common misconceptions about psychotherapy

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

During its existence, psychotherapy has acquired many myths. We have collected and debunked the most common of them.

The word "psychotherapy" can be frightening - there are so many conjectures around him. Someone thinks that going to a psychologist is the lot of the mentally ill, someone - that this is, in principle, a pointless exercise. These statements, like many others, are wrong. The most popular of them are presented and refuted below.

1. Only psychos go to psychotherapists

This is perhaps the most important myth about psychotherapy. Although it has been said more than once: people with mental disabilities are treated by psychiatrists. All the rest turn to psychotherapists in order to understand themselves and their lives. The reason for consultations may be the most common: for example, the desire to earn more or to improve relations with a partner.

Lynn Bufka, a spokeswoman for the American Psychological Association, advises those who feel overwhelmed and overwhelmed to see a specialist.

2. Psychotherapy is for losers. I can solve my problems myself

If a tumor is found in a person, he turns to the surgeon, and does not perform the operation on his own. The same should apply to the main human organ - the soul. Therefore, if everything is not all right with her, it is better to ask a professional for help than to self-medicate.

Natalya Kiselnikova, head of the laboratory of counseling psychology and psychotherapy at the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education, emphasizes that neither reading professional literature on psychology nor medication can replace therapy. The ability to communicate with oneself develops not through the acquisition of new knowledge, but in contact with others. And not a single pill helps to find the meaning of life.

3. My psychologist is my friend

First, a friend cannot perform the function of a psychotherapist. And professor Ryan Howes of the Fuller School of Psychology gives several explanations for this.

The first is that even the wisest friend does not have a professional education, on which a psychotherapist can spend up to 10 years.

The second reason is the involvement of friends in interpersonal relationships, which exclude objectivity on the part of one and the necessary liberation on the part of the other.

Incidentally, this is why professional therapists never work with family and friends.

Another position is also wrong: the therapist is just a paid friend. As New York psychologist Alina Gerst notes, the relationship between therapist and patient is a very peculiar bond, where the latter is given much more attention than the former. This fact alone interferes with the creation of real friendships.

4. Sports can replace psychotherapy

Sports activities, of course, stimulate the release of endorphins, that is, they are a kind of antidepressant. But in general, they do not solve psychological problems. On the contrary, intense exercise can be an escape from difficulties and ultimately lead to physical injury.

The situation is different if sport is combined with psychotherapy. A similar active method, for example, is practiced by the American psychotherapist and tennis player Felix Treitler. Together with his patients, he engages in various types of physical and creative activity, during which various emotions are worked out: from anger and disappointment to joy and a sense of success.

5. Psychotherapy takes a long time

This statement rather refers to psychoanalysis. In addition to it, there are many other practices, and quite short-term ones. In addition, the patient himself can set the time frame for his therapy. In the end, her success largely depends on his desire.

6. Psychologists only need money

Ryan Howes rightly notes that people who want to get rich are more likely to go into business than listen to other people's problems all day long. This does not mean that the psychologist does not need money: like any professional, he wants to be rewarded for his work. But he also wants to get satisfaction from her. The main task of a professional psychologist is to help the patient deal with his problem. The faster and more efficiently he does it, the more successful he will feel.

7. Psychotherapy didn't help me, so it doesn't work

The reasons why psychotherapy proved to be ineffective are very different. For example, a client may make such a conclusion after one or two sessions, when a connection with a psychologist has not yet been established and the practice has not really begun.

Another reason is insufficient patient involvement in the process.

Many people believe that psychotherapy will magically solve their problems. But being present at meetings is not enough: you need to work hard with a psychologist.

In addition, it should be remembered: the psychotherapist does not possess the secret of a happy life. He does not give advice, but only helps to get to know yourself better and look at the world differently.

Finally, another reason for the ineffectiveness of therapy may be that the person simply did not find his specialist. Clinical psychologist and blogger Stephanie Smith argues that compatibility between therapist and client is the key to a successful practice. It is more important than the regalia and qualifications of the doctor, as well as the method and duration of therapy.

Output

Ultimately, whether or not to practice psychotherapy is a personal choice. But he, at least, should be based on the correct idea of the subject. Otherwise, a person is not only held captive by illusions, but also alienates himself from possible solutions to problems.