What is therapy and how does it work?

Therapy, otherwise known as psychotherapy or talk-therapy, refers to meeting with a trained mental health professional for support on mental health challenges. Therapy sessions focus on improving mental health through understanding of your attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and behaviours considering context that you function in. This includes your developmental stage, your social setting, and your upbringing.

It is not often talked about, but research on psychotherapy has been growing rapidly. A report by the American Psychological Society suggested that therapy is often more effective than no treatment (i.e., on waitlist). For certain diagnoses, it was also reported to be more effective than medication. Recent meta-analyses and reviews have found psychotherapy in general to be effective in alleviating symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder and Eating Disorders.

Several factors come into play in determining whether therapy will work for you.

1. Ability to continuously and meaningfully engage in therapy
   Therapy requires more time and effort compared to medicine. If there are factors in your life now, that make it difficult for you to engage continuously in therapy, you might find therapy less effective. This includes having limited time off to attend therapy sessions consistently, being on substances (prescribed or otherwise) that make focusing difficult, or being in active recovery from a major surgery. In those situations, competing priorities like this might mean that it is not the most appropriate to engage in therapy now. Alternatively, if your mental health impacts functioning such that you are frequently cancelling or late to therapy, it is important for you and your therapist to openly address these challenges in a compassionate and collaborative way.

2. Choosing the appropriate type of therapy.
   Not all therapies work equally for all mental health challenges. For instance, with Borderline Personality Disorder, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy was found to be the effective in reducing symptoms whereas Cognitive Behavioural Therapy was not. Understanding your therapists’ take on the type of therapy suitable, and whether they have training in that area is crucial.

3. Building a strong therapeutic alliance with your therapist
   Regardless of therapy types, though, research has suggested that therapy is most likely to be effective when there is a strong therapeutic alliance. This means that both you and your therapist are aligned on the goals and methods of treatment.

In short, therapy works best when you find the right therapist for you and your specific needs. Some clinics (like us!) offer a 15-minute consultation. Taking up that offer to find out more about them, their training, and their approach to therapy is a cost-free way to increasing your chances of finding a suitable therapist.

If you, or someone you care about, is looking for a therapist but is not sure how, we have also created a free mini, 4-page workbook that you can use to find the right therapist. It includes an interview template and some reflection prompts to help you understand what you need a little better.