What is Mental Health Therapy?
If you’re like me, you’ve probably seen a lot of representations of mental health therapy in movies or TV. Maybe you’ve seen therapists on social media who are using their platform to discuss various topics related to mental health. Or maybe you’ve heard a family member or friend say “my therapist told me…” With that being said, I might be biased, but I couldn’t be more happy that therapy is being represented in the media or becoming a part of casual conversation; arguably, this can help lessen the stigma surrounding mental health and mental health treatment. However, along with increased attention toward mental health treatment comes misinformation. That’s where I come in; I’ll be writing an ongoing series starting with this post about mental health treatment myths. My hope is that by busting some of these myths and promoting the facts we can reduce the stigma around mental health treatment.
Myth 1: All mental health professionals provide the same services
In the physical health treatment realm, there are many different types of providers; doctors, PAs (physician associates/physician assistants), NPs (nurse practitioners), RNs (Registered Nurses), etc. This is similar for the mental health treatment realm.
Psychiatrists are doctors who go to medical school; they can prescribe medications (such as antidepressants) for psychiatric illnesses. Some psychiatrists focus mainly on the medication side of the field of psychiatry (e.g. assessing patients for psychiatric illness, prescribing medications, and monitoring the effectiveness of such medications), while others will also provide mental health counseling.
Clinical psychologists typically obtain their doctorate (e.g. PhD or PsyD) and can then go on to use their degree to provide mental health counseling and conduct assessments such as ADHD assessments, Autism assessments, IQ tests, etc.
Social workers (LMSW, LCSW), Mental Health Counselors (LMHC, LPC), and Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT) are licensed clinicians with graduate degrees in mental health treatment. These kinds of clinicians who primarily provide therapy services can also administer some types of assessments (typically brief paper questionnaires), but generally are not permitted to do the type of in depth testing that clinical psychologists can do.
Myth 2: My therapist is going to tell me what to do
“What do you think I should do?” is what we will often ask others when going to them for advice; we look to other people for their opinions about what we should do in many situations. However, throughout the therapy process, it is not usually a therapist’s job to tell you what to do; that wouldn’t be fair to you. You know yourself better than anyone knows you so therapists will generally assume you are better positioned than they are to know which choices are best for you. Therapists can help you to develop different skills that you can utilize in various situations, help you consider things that you haven’t already considered, or aid you in viewing things from another perspective (perhaps a perspective that you haven’t yet thought about), but at the end of the day, you are the person who can best decide how to navigate situations in your life.
Myth 3: I have to disclose my deepest, darkest thoughts & feelings to my therapist
In the beginning of therapy, the therapist will usually conduct an intake session. These sessions are where therapists work to understand what is bringing you to therapy and some of your personal history that may be contributing to your current experiences. However, this does not mean that you have to disclose every single thing about yourself or your life. You are in the driver’s seat and have the right to choose what to disclose and at what pace you feel comfortable. We as therapists understand that the topics that you may be bringing to therapy aren’t always the easiest to talk about, especially if you have been through painful experiences in your past. In turn, it is the therapist’s job to meet you where you’re at and create an environment that makes it possible to discuss difficult facets of your life at the pace you feel comfortable. In fact, some therapeutic modalities, such as Solution Focused Brief Therapy, have a very minimal emphasis on a person’s past and, instead, focus on where the person is presently and where they would like to go in the future.
Myth 4: A therapist will be more helpful to be if they’ve been through similar experiences as me
It is completely understandable why you may want a therapist who has been through similar experiences as you. However, it is not necessarily important for a therapist to have, or have had, a lived experience of the issues you want to discuss in order to be able to help, and having a therapist who shares your experiences can actually be counterproductive in some cases. For example, if there is a therapist who is a parent and their client is also a parent, it is not necessarily the case that the therapist’s approach to parenting will apply to the client’s since not all approaches work with every child, and their life situations may be very different. Because the therapist is not usually in a teaching role, their job is to help a person figure out what works best for them by providing a space to explore their experiences and how they have navigated situations, and to consider and try out new approaches, in a non-judgmental and supportive environment.
At the end of the day, it is the therapist’s job to put themselves in your shoes in order to best help. Sometimes that means that the therapist has to get out of their sneakers and wear your boots while you share the therapy space together. Lets face it, in real life, plenty of people wear the same exact shoes as other people on a daily basis and don’t understand each other’s experience. It’s better to find someone who will work hard to understand your experience and then help rather than someone who thinks they know it, and assumes wrong, just because they have worn the same shoes.
