Process of Starting Therapy
Frequently Asked Questions
What is psychotherapy, and what concerns can it help with? Psychotherapy or therapy is a process which helps you deal with mental health, emotional and behavioral challenges, with the support of a trained therapist. The aim is to help you reflect, navigate and ultimately bring about positive changes in your life. Therapy can help with specific mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, addictions, ADHD, eating disorders, traumatic stress, etc. Therapy can also be helpful in coping with stressful life events, understanding the impact of your life experiences, navigating difficult emotions, relationship difficulties, medical illness or loss - such as the death of a loved one. One does not need to have a severe mental health difficulty to reap the benefits of it.
How do I know when I need psychotherapy? All of us face challenges in our lives. These challenges can range from daily life stressors to mental health disorders. Sometimes, these challenges cannot be overcome on our own. A trained therapist helps you overcome these challenges using various psychotherapy modalities. Following are the signs that indicate that you may need therapy: -If you are unable to manage your distress with the resources you possess -If the distress is disrupting basic self-care activities, like bathing, sleeping, eating and socializing -If you are feeling ‘stuck’, unable to achieve what you want -If you are facing difficulty understanding and managing your emotions leading to frequent breakdowns or outbursts -If your physical health is getting compromised. For example, frequent headaches (or other persistent aches and pains), gut issues, compromised immunity Note that this is not an exhaustive list, but just some indicators.
What’s the difference between a psychiatrist and psychologist? Psychiatrists are medical doctors by training and can prescribe medication to treat mental health disorders. Psychologists are mental health professionals with a minimum of Master’s Degree in Psychology or a further M.Phil. and/or PhD as well. Psychologists cannot prescribe medication. They treat mental health disorders through therapy and related approaches.
Will I become dependent on therapy? Being initially dependent is common to happen in the early phases of therapy. A degree of dependence is ok, because therapy revolves around the strength of the therapeutic relationship between the therapist and client which is a reliable source of support. However, the aim of a mental health intervention is to help build resources and resilience in a way that the individual can lead life on their own (even if that means they choose to depend on people for support from time to time. After all, human beings thrive in packs!). Therapists and counsellors can help you set goals and work towards them, and once these goals are reached, sessions can be terminated. A client/patient has complete agency to terminate sessions whenever they want. Some modalities specify the number of sessions that will be required to deal with a specific concern, but many a times, therapy can also be a long-term process of self-discovery.