4 Myths About Seeing a Therapist

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• “I don’t suffer from mental health problems.” Counterpoint: One in five Americans will experience a mental health illness in a given year, and one in 25 Americans live with a serious mental illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The pandemic has also led more Americans to report mental health challenges, the CDC notes. Bottom line: You’re not alone.
  
• “I can handle it myself.” Counterpoint: We often need a licensed therapist to help us develop a plan for solving our problems. A therapist can also help determine if you need medication. Therapists can’t write prescriptions — that’s usually done by a medical doctor or a psychiatrist — but they can help you understand if you should talk with your doctor about meds.
• “I don’t have time.” Counterpoint: Thanks to telemedicine, you can talk to a therapist from the comfort and privacy of your home (research shows that morning may be the most productive time for a session).
• “It’s a minor setback. I can snap out of it.” Counterpoint: Having a mental illness isn’t a character flaw or something to feel embarrassed about. It also isn’t something you can fix instantly. Therapy can take months or years. It all depends on the issue and your willingness to do the work.

Why

Therapy is often successful. So why don’t more people seek help for problems such as grief, anxiety and depression? Psychotherapy (or talk therapy, as it’s often called) is underutilized by most Americans, according to research from the American Psychological Association. The reasons can range from embarrassment to stubborn pride, says George Washington University professor Roy Richard Grinker, author of Nobody’s Normal: How Culture Created the Stigma of Mental Illness. But these obstacles are often excuses that may prevent people from getting help. Here are four common misconceptions about therapy and how to overcome them.