Sometimes, we all need a little helping hand in life. Whether that’s borrowing some sugar from a neighbour, asking for help with a project from a friend, or asking favours from folks. The amount of help we need truly varies, from help with a relatively minor thing to major problems.
For people with significant problems in their lives, talk therapy can be an excellent way of receiving help for issues that are too much for you to deal with by yourself.
This article will discuss talk therapy, the different types of talk therapy, and who can benefit from it most, such as those struggling with mental health conditions, life transitions, stress, trauma, or personal growth challenges. We’ll highlight how therapy can support emotional well-being, provide coping mechanisms, and improve overall mental health.
So, continue reading to learn more.
Why Seek Therapy?
Seeking therapy can be a transformative step toward emotional well-being and receiving support for the problems in your life. Whether you engage with licensed therapists, psychologists, or psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs), individuals can find support tailored to their needs. Many PMHNPs receive specialized training in psychotherapy through online MSN PMHNP programs, equipping them to provide holistic mental health care alongside medication management. Some people may find that talking to a counsellor about a single, isolated issue is enough. Whatever the case, there is a solid argument for seeing a mental health professional if you’re struggling with some problems in your life.
What is Therapy? Who Can Offer It?
Psychologists, psychiatric nurses and a counselor can offer therapy. Each of these professional roles undergoes years of study to obtain the requisite qualifications that allow them to offer therapy to clients.
Therapy is the term for the process of talking to a therapist about your problems and having them use their qualifications, training, and experience to help you navigate those issues through dialogue.
Therapists may use a range of talk therapies to assist you with the issue you’re presenting with.
Some examples of therapy include:
- Dialectical Behavioural Therapy
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- Motivational interviewing
- Brief interventions
- Psychotherapy
- Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy
Let’s explore in more detail one of the most common therapies a therapist will use: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (or CBT). CBT is used to treat mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and other common problems folks may have with their mental health. It can also be used to treat compulsive and addictive behaviours such as substance abuse, overspending, and overeating.
The CBT method is based on several core foundations, including:
- Psychological problems are based, in part, on faulty, unhelpful, or distorted types of thinking.
- Mental health issues and associated behaviours that come with them are based partially on learned patterns of behaviour.
- People experiencing these problems can learn better ways of coping with them, thereby relieving various symptoms of mental health issues and becoming more effective, productive, and happier in their lives.
CBT treatment will usually involve concentrated efforts to help you change distorted or problematic thinking patterns. Some strategies a therapist will utilize with you while using CBT might include:
- This will help you to gain an improved understanding of your behaviour, as well as the motivations of other people and how you interact with them.
- Learning how to recognize the distorted thinking that is creating problems for you and then reassessing the issues based on reality and the available evidence.
- Learning to develop improved confidence, well-being, and peace of mind.
- Using CBT specific problem-solving skills to help cope with difficult situations, problematic behavior, and your thinking.
CBT has a rock-solid evidence base and is clinically proven to work effectively when delivered by a competent, qualified, and trained mental health professional such as a counselor or psychologist.
Who Can Benefit the Most from Talk Therapy?
We’ve briefly touched on this above, but let’s dive in in more detail. People who can benefit the most from talk therapy are people with mental health issues. These may include:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Bipolar disorder
- Borderline personality disorder
- Schizophrenia
- Schizoaffective disorder
- Substance use disorder
- Agoraphobia
- People who overspend
In addition to people with a diagnosed mental health disorder, talk therapy can be useful for people who don’t have a diagnosis but are struggling with their mental health or a specific behaviour. For instance, someone may be drinking too much alcohol, be anxious about their work or study, or be having trouble navigating romantic or platonic relationships.
A Therapy Summary
This helpful article has covered everything about talk therapy. We’ve covered what it is, what professionals can offer it, the different types of talk therapy, and the people who can benefit the most from this mental health intervention.
