Psychotherapy or “therapy” typically refers to talk therapy. People often seek help from a therapist when they are at a crisis point in life, such as facing a divorce or being diagnosed with a mental illness. Treatment can be highly effective in assisting people through difficult times. However, crisis management isn’t the only benefit of therapy.

The stigmas attached to mental health concerns may prevent individuals from seeking support that could lead to a healthier, happier life. Misunderstandings about what therapy is can also get in the way. Anyone interested in personal growth or who needs a nonjudgmental, listening ear can benefit from seeing a therapist.

What Type of Therapist Do You Need?

If you’re considering therapy for the first time, the different titles and specialties of mental health professionals can be confusing. The term “psychotherapist” covers a range of mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselors.

Different levels of education and training are required for each specialty. For example, both psychiatrists and psychologists can provide some type of talk therapy treatment to clients, but only psychiatrists have a medical degree. Some of the most common types of therapists include:

  • Addiction Therapist: Trained to help clients overcome alcohol and substance use disorders
  • Behavioral Therapist: Trained to help people living with mental health disorders like depression
  • Marriage and Family Therapist: Specializing in helping families and couples improve their relationships
  • Clinical Therapists: Similar to behavioral therapists, clinical therapists also focus on treating the underlying conditions related to mental illness
  • Cognitive Therapist: Focuses on short-term therapeutic solutions
  • Trauma Therapist: Trained to help people process a single traumatic event or complex trauma

Therapists can specialize in more than one area. For example, because many people with addiction issues also have a history of trauma, many therapists in the substance use disorder field have also opted to receive training in trauma therapy.

7 Benefits of Therapy

There are many benefits to starting therapy. Keep reading to learn more about some of the core benefits that therapy offers.

1. Reducing Stress

Stress is a natural part of life, but chronic stress can affect your mental and physical health. You may not be able to change the sources of stress in your life, but therapy can help you learn new ways to manage stress. If you’re experiencing excessive worry, body aches, digestive problems, or insomnia, chronic stress could be the problem.

Consider cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for short-term help with stress management. The goal of CBT is to identify thinking and behavioral patterns that add to your stress load and change them.

For example, waking up every morning with negative thoughts about how hard your day will be could add to your stress load. A CBT therapist will help you address habits like this and provide the tools you need to create new habits that support your goals.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is meant to be short-term, often lasting no longer than 12 to 20 sessions. One of the reasons CBT provides results in a limited time is because clients have “homework” to complete between sessions.

Homework assignments provide opportunities to practice new skills independently and apply them to everyday life while you are still actively receiving the support of a therapist.

2. Improved Communication Skills

If you feel you are often misunderstood, or if significant people in your life regularly express frustration with the way you express yourself, improving your communication skills may be the solution.

Communication is a learned skill, and communication patterns are learned early in life. However, it’s never too late to improve your skills with the help of a professional. A therapist can help you improve your communication by introducing techniques such as:

  • Empathetic listening
  • Active listening
  • Reflection
  • Assertive communication
  • Asking for feedback
  • Using “I” statements
  • Pre-conversation relaxation
  • Forming emotional connections

Better communication skills benefit almost every aspect of life, including personal and professional relationships and personal growth.

3. Healing Past Trauma

Most people are aware of post-traumatic stress disorder and the impact that major traumatic events can have on a person’s mental health. As important as these issues are, addressing the effects of negative childhood experiences is just as important.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) include major events, such as the loss of a parent, abuse, or surviving a near-death experience. Less obvious forms of trauma can also have long-term effects on a child’s well-being. Examples include:

  • Emotional neglect
  • Living in a household where one or more members has an untreated mental illness (including substance use disorders)
  • Witnessing domestic violence
  • Having incarcerated family members
  • Extreme poverty
  • Environmental factors, such as violence in the community
  • Parental divorce or separation
  • Generational trauma

Whatever the source, trauma can affect people in ways they don’t realize. If you have difficulty maintaining healthy relationships, persistent unexplained feelings of anxiety, or feel numb to your emotions, it could be a result of trauma. Self-harming and suicidal ideation can also be symptoms of unhealed trauma.

Trauma therapy programs may include treatment techniques like eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), prolonged exposure therapy, somatic therapy, and ketamine-assisted therapy. These types of therapies are designed to work quickly by changing the way the brain processes traumatic memories.

4. Improving Relationships

Your marriage or other significant relationship doesn’t need to be on the brink of disaster before you seek therapy. One of the greatest benefits of therapy is that it can provide guidance that prevents relationships from falling apart. Therapy helps couples learn how to:

  • Resolve conflict
  • Increase support
  • Restore trust
  • Improve sexual and emotional intimacy
  • Form stronger bonds
  • Improve communication

If you and your partner find you have the same arguments over and over again without finding a resolution or have started to ignore problems out of frustration, a therapist can help. Some couples avoid therapy because they believe a therapist will take sides and that one person will receive the “blame” for relationship problems.

Therapists are unbiased listeners. Their job is to remain neutral and listen to both partners without judgment. If, by rare chance, a marriage therapist does show favoritism, end your sessions and find another professional to work with. A therapist doesn’t solve marital problems or provide solutions, but they do offer clients the tools they need to find their own solutions.

5. Changing Unproductive Patterns

Have you ever felt like you were your own worst enemy? Do you have low self-esteem? Is there a constant loop of negative self-talk in your head? Therapy can help you recognize and change the behaviors that prevent you from thriving.

Habits are behaviors that get repeated until they become encoded in the brain. Specifically, behavioral patterns are stored in the basal ganglia, an area of the brain that’s responsible for remembering habits. Once the behavior becomes encoded, the brain’s reward system releases dopamine and other pleasure hormones when the habit is repeated.

Even though the habit itself may be unpleasant, like telling yourself you’ll never succeed at something, the action of the habit receives a reward. A therapist might recommend a form of behavioral therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy or dialectical behavior therapy, to help you stop unproductive patterns.

Ending unwanted habits is only the first step. Encoding new healthy habits that support your goals and values will help you make changes that last a lifetime.

6. Managing Mental Health Symptoms

While mental health disorders can lead to crises if they are untreated, living with depression, anxiety, or other disorders does not mean you must be in a constant state of emergency. Benefits of therapy for people with a diagnosed mental health condition include:

  • Learning about your disorder and how your mind works
  • Recognizing triggers
  • Addressing specific symptoms, such as guilt or anger
  • Teaching techniques for stress management
  • Connecting clients with local resources
  • Getting nonjudgmental support
  • Improving psychological well-being

Psychotherapy is an evidence-based, well-researched form of treatment for mental illness. It can produce long-term changes in behavior by modifying brain structure.

Some therapeutic techniques focus on improving the function of the brain’s prefrontal cortex to help clients control their emotions, while others concentrate on strengthening connections between certain areas of the brain to reduce psychotic symptoms.

Those living with mental illness can often feel isolated from the rest of society. Group therapy is a type of psychotherapy that offers an opportunity to connect with others who face similar challenges.

Members can feel safe sharing their struggles and achievements in a judgment-free atmosphere. They can learn from and encourage one another while remaining under the supervision of a qualified therapist.

7. Getting Ongoing Recovery Support

Undergoing treatment for an addiction is one of the hardest and most courageous things a person can do for themselves. As monumental as it is to complete a recovery program, graduation only marks the beginning of a new life. Recovery is a lifetime process, and therapy can play an invaluable role in that process.

Continuing with individual or group therapy after treatment provides ongoing support many people need to avoid relapse. Including specialized treatments like deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (deep TMS) along with talk therapy can address co-occurring anxiety and depression.

Long-term therapy isn’t a requirement for successful recovery, but many individuals have significant trauma and other mental wellness issues that can’t be fully resolved during a standard treatment program. Additional therapy provides the focused treatment they need to meet their wellness goals.

Tips for Choosing a Therapist

Finding the right mental health therapist is key to reaping the benefits of therapy. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or interview more than one therapist before deciding to make an appointment. It takes time and effort to build trust with a stranger.

These questions can help you find the right therapist for you:

  • What are your credentials and experience?
  • What treatment approaches do you prefer?
  • What is your availability?
  • What can I expect from our first session?
  • Do you offer online therapy?
  • What is your fee?

Keep in mind that a certification is not the same as a license. Therapists are required to maintain current state licensing. It is okay to ask about your therapist’s education and licensing status.

If you don’t “click” with a therapist on the first or second session, it doesn’t mean therapy isn’t right for you. Be patient; it can take time to find a good fit.

Give Yourself the Benefits of Therapy Today

If you’re overwhelmed with stress, struggling in relationships, or stuck in habits that make you feel bad about yourself, you could be headed for a mental health crisis. Working with a therapist now could prevent problems from getting worse and provide the resources you need to improve your life today.

Therapists are trained to help people with a diverse array of issues, from managing serious symptoms of a mental disorder to achieving personal goals. Their role is to provide tools and nonjudgmental support while clients find the solutions they are looking for.

To learn more about the benefits of therapy, connect with Plus by PN by calling 866.271.6006 or filling out our confidential contact form.

References

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  • “Adverse Childhood Experiences.” Psychology Today, 2019, www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/adverse-childhood-experiences?msockid=3e810381c43767c42cf117cdc5b36615. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.
  • Cherney, Kristeen. “Therapies That Work for Stress.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 3 Nov. 2020, www.healthline.com/health/stress/therapy-for-stress.
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  • Khoury, Lamya, et al. “Substance Use, Childhood Traumatic Experience, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in an Urban Civilian Population.” Depression and Anxiety, vol. 27, no. 12, 2010, pp. 1077-1086, https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20751. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024.
  • Mason, L, et al. “Brain Connectivity Changes Occurring following Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis Predict Long-term Recovery.” Translational Psychiatry, vol. 7, no. 1, 2017, p. e1001, https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2016.263. Accessed 15 Dec. 2024. National Institute of Mental Health. “Coping with Traumatic Events.” Www.nimh.nih.gov, 2020, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/coping-with-traumatic-events.
  • “Science behind Therapy.” Mental Health America, www.mhanational.org/science-behind-therapy.