PSYCHOTHERAPY

“Psychological treatment of emotional problems in which a trained person deliberately establishes a professional relationship with the patient in order to: (a) remove or modify or retard existing symptoms; (b) mediate disturbed patterns of behaviour; (c) promote positive personality growth and development.” (Wolberg, 1995)
MYTHS AND MISPERCEPTIONS ABOUT PSYCHOTHERAPY:
“Only weak minded people need therapy. Anyone who goes to a psychologist is weak and can’t handle problems.”
Fact- Therapy is meant for all, starting form children to parents to elderly. It is for all those who realize that they are not able to cope with the present situation all by themselves.

"Therapy takes forever. For every decision to be taken, the client becomes dependent on the therapist and rushes for help.”
Fact- Depending on the aims of therapy, motivation of the client and the extent of distress, the number of sessions are tentatively arrived at. Since psychotherapy aims at self-efficiency, the client is guided by the therapist in becoming more responsible for his/her life.

“The therapist will see things in me that other people can't see and may not like me.”
Fact- Therapists are not mind readers. They understand behaviour by noticing non-verbal cues, history reports by patients as well as informants, but they do not know what is going on in one’s mind until one tells them. Therapists are trained not to blame, ridicule, or pass judgment on clients but to accept them unconditionally.

“Therapy will completely change my personality.”
Fact- Personality is formed over the years as a result of genes, interaction with environment, exposure, etc. Changing it completely or having an overall reversal is never aimed at. Rather therapy emphasizes accepting oneself and being more at ease with the way one is as it helps one accept the losses more gracefully, evaluate the possibilities more openly, and participate more actively in life.

“All that I tell my therapist will be told to family or he/she may laugh over coffee discussing my case with colleagues.”
Fact- Therapists are legally bound to hold everything that a client says in complete confidence with some exceptions like ongoing sexual abuse, intent to harm self, etc.


Compiled by:

Bandna Rekhi