What is therapy?
When you hear the word “psychotherapy”, what do you picture? A person laying down on the couch with the therapist sitting behind them interpreting their dreams? Maybe it’s Tony Soprano talking with Dr. Melfi about how his parents “messed him up”. Or perhaps your vision of psychotherapy is what viewers used to hear on the Dr. Phil show (although I certainly hope not!)
The fact of the matter is that a definition of psychotherapy can be difficult to pin down because it comes in many forms and styles. It is both a science and an art. Psychotherapy is a meeting of the minds between a client, who is the expert on themselves, and the therapist, who is the specialist on human behavior. A psychotherapist (meaning a counselor, psychologist, social worker, or other professional) has extensive education and training in human behavior, human development, interpersonal dynamics, human physiology, systems, and other subjects. So, therapy is a place where a therapist will artfully deliver their scientific knowledge to serve their clients in reaching their goals, whatever those goals may be.
For some, those goals may mean processing or working through grief. For others, it might mean building coping skills for managing anxiety about work performance or reducing depression stemming from lost opportunities. Further goals for therapy could include learning to live with chronic pain, figuring out how to adapt to a new medical diagnosis, modifying unhelpful thought patterns or habits, building resiliency following a stressful or traumatic event, or identifying new ways to create friendships. One’s goals for therapy are unique to and determined by each individual client.
A therapist will support a client in identifying how psychotherapy can help them grow and learn to build a more enriching, values-driven life. Therapists will leverage their expertise by offering the client compassion, validation, coaching, problem-solving, psychoeducation, and other techniques to both warmly nurture and gently challenge the client to create the life they want to live.
In the West, psychotherapy has traditionally taken on the form of regular conversations between client and provider about the client’s goals, concerns, and life experiences. However, the definition of psychotherapy is changing as more types of therapies (art therapy, equine therapy, dance therapy, etc.) emerge and are shown, by empirically-backed research, to be helpful for clients.
For more information on what therapy is and isn’t, be sure to check out the upcoming blog posts on the Types of Therapy and the Myths of Therapy or call/email CPGR to set up an appointment!
