Psychotherapy can make a major impact on your life. The ideas in this post are experiences I have had, in addition to changes I have seen in clients. In this post, I am not going to go into specifics, because there are many different types of psychotherapy and we all have different experiences in therapy. It is important to note that not all therapy is created equal – and it shouldn’t be. No two clients are alike, and each has their own needs from therapy. Therefore, not everyone will have the same experiences I list in this post. In addition, what you put into therapy is often what you get out. One clinical hour is typically 50 minutes long, once per week. There are 10,080 minutes per week. That’s only about 0.50% of your week in therapy. Think about that for a moment. Efforts put into practice outside of the session are important as well.
- Psychotherapy can help you recognize things in yourself you were previously unaware of. Do you get defensive when a certain topic is brought up? Perhaps you shy away from conflict or taking responsibility for occurrences. You may be unaware of patterns because your world view and actions are deeply rooted in the subconscious. You may react to things without knowing the reasons why. A therapist can give an objective viewpoint to your situations and offer an alternative approach.
- Psychotherapy can challenge you out of your comfort zone. Therapy is not the same as “coffee-shop talk”. Meaning, you won’t just be sitting around for about an hour a week and telling the therapist only about what you did that week. Therapy can be hard work. You’ll likely discuss topics you may have been holding back or discover things about yourself that you want to work on. This can be uncomfortable, but when we are uncomfortable (as long as you are safe), that’s where growth occurs. If you stick with it, you’ll likely be a very different person after therapy.
- Replace unproductive behaviors with more productive ones. As mentioned earlier, there are different types of therapy. In some, the therapist will help a client replace unproductive behaviors with more productive ones. Notice I didn’t write “break habits.” It’s very difficult to suddenly break a habit. It takes time. For example, a client who is looking to cut down social media likely won’t just stop social media all of a sudden. What will the client do instead? For example, they may replace going on social media with taking a walk or calling a friend. It’s usually easier to attach a new habit to a pre-existing habit. For example, a client may decide to put their phone away at 9:30pm, before they brush their teeth. Choosing these more productive behaviors is a collaborative approach with your therapist. They will not simply tell you what to do. This is because a goal of therapy is to empower clients to make life decisions on their own.
- Learn coping techniques. Learning how to cope with certain situations in life as well as mental health concerns is a common strategy in therapy. Coping techniques are usually specific to each client in their situation. Reacting to situations may be due to a lack of coping techniques. With them, a client can improve their emotional self-regulation and act in a healthier manner.
- Have someone listen to you and validate your feelings. It’s rare to find a person who will sit and listen to you for 10 minutes straight let along one hour of undivided attention. Some things are difficult to talk about and we may not want to talk about them to our best friend or family member. A therapist will not judge and allow their bias to filer what you are saying. This can be very validating. Although a therapist can validate your thoughts, emotions, situation, etc., the therapist will ensure that you are not relying just on them for validation. It’s important that the client will be able to validate themselves.
These are five common ways in which psychotherapy can potentially change your life. Have you experienced any of these changes? Has therapy helped you grow in other ways? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading and take care!