For some people, going to a psychologist is synonymous with being a weak person, but in reality, going to psychological therapy can make you a stronger person emotionally, and can give you tools to be able to adapt betterto difficult situations that can occur throughout your life.
In this article we will see a summary of the main benefits of attending psychotherapythat is, the areas of life in which having the help of psychologists provides well-being.
As we have seen, historically, resorting to professional support for issues related to mental health has been considered taboo, a fact deserving of stigma. However, over the decades it has become normalized, for good reason: everyone may need to go to a psychologist eventually, and on the other hand, psychotherapy works.
Therefore, Going to therapy is an act of intelligence and couragesince in many cases the person who needs help is not aware that they have the problem or avoids facing reality. Many people still do not know when they should think about going to a psychologist, especially due to false beliefs about what psychotherapy is and who it is for.
A psychotherapist is a mental health professional specialized in the cognitive (thinking), affective (emotions) and behavioral (behavior) areas, and who It can help you empower yourself in the face of everyday circumstances and improve your quality of life..
Of course, beyond knowing what psychotherapists technically do, it is important to know in what sense this work is beneficial for patients. Therefore, here you can find a summary of the benefits of psychological therapy.
By facing with a psychotherapist those problems that cause you pain or discomfort, and being able to speak with confidence and freedom about yourself to someone who does not judge you about your feelings and your repressed experiences, you are letting your hidden thoughts and sensations express, which which It is beneficial for well-being.
When you express how you feel and release your emotional burden, you feel relieved. This is known as catharsis, a Greek word that refers to purification and is used in psychology to explain the process of releasing negative emotions.
2. It teaches you tools to manage conflicts
The conflicts They are something normal in people’s lives and, on many occasions, they are necessary for personal growth or coexistence with other individuals. Psychotherapy sessions teach you new ways (more adaptive) to solve problems.
In addition, it can help you perceive conflicts differently, so that they affect you less and be able to relativize the importance of tense situations. In this way, your way of adapting to new day-to-day circumstances will be much better and, in general, you will have fewer difficulties in your personal relationships or even in the professional field.
3. Helps you change limiting beliefs
With our beliefs and values we give meaning and coherence to our model of the world. The same situation can be experienced differently by each person. Beliefs ultimately help us simplify the world around us, and they are interpretations of reality and not confirmed facts.
Some beliefs are maladaptive or limiting and it is necessary to correct them, since these are not innate, we acquire them throughout our lives. Therefore, The psychologist can help you identify them, analyze them, test them and modify them..
4. Helps you live in harmony with yourself and others
The introspection that is carried out when attending therapy allows you to know yourself better and overcome, for example, an existential crisis. In addition, psychotherapy is effective for work problems (burnout, stress, etc.) or relationship problems.
Therefore, psychological therapy can help you solve these types of problems, and It is beneficial to find yourself and to relate to others more effectively.. This will positively affect your mental health, and will allow you to find inner peace and well-being.
The psychotherapist is an expert in psychological therapy, and He has extensive knowledge about human behaviorsince he has completed his psychology studies at a regulated university. That is why she does not apply “recipes” to solve psychological problems, but rather studies each particular case and works from the beliefs, habits and life context of the person who comes to therapy.
Psychological therapy is not telling your problems to a friend or family member, because there is a solid foundation (both theoretical and practical) backed by science. But this is not about applying advice that is written in a manual, but about helping to modify behaviors and thought patterns to adapt them to a goal. That is why its results are long-lasting, since they are based on the characteristics of the person and the environment in which they live.
6. Empowers you in life
One of the goals of psychotherapy is that the relationship between the therapist and the patient is not one of dependency. Therefore, the psychologist helps you to be master of yourself and to acquire new skills that will be useful to you on a daily basis.
Attending psychological therapy is not waiting for the psychologist to solve your problems, It is learning to accept and love what one is and putting the necessary will to change what causes us discomfort or prevents us from growing..
7. Helps you get to know yourself
In psychotherapy, we go through the process of questioning what we thought we knew about ourselves. That is to say, that In the sessions with the psychologist, a context of self-knowledge is created.
This is not only exhilarating from an existential point of view; In addition, it helps to detect problematic behavior patterns and certain important emotions, to know how to manage and channel them well without complicating our daily lives.
Furthermore, several of the techniques applied involve following a series of guidelines to, on a day-to-day basis, get used to become aware of the different ways in which our problems make us feelwhat they lead us to think, and how and when these forms of discomfort arise.
8. Provide an environment in which to express yourself honestly
In addition to the knowledge and professionalism that the psychologist must show, The environment of trust that is created between both of you will allow you to express problems and feelings. that you consider more sensitive (and that you probably wouldn’t tell anyone else).
The psychologist is not going to judge you and, in addition, has the necessary training to create a good environment of trust and empathy so that you can express yourself without fear.
9. Helps improve social skills
Psychotherapy not only focuses on the psychological processes of managing emotions and thoughts; also can be focused “outside” the person, towards personal relationships.
This involves improving communication skills, the ability to manage anxiety when meeting new people, learning to resolve conflicts assertively, etc.
10. Helps prevent emotional crises and relapses
Another benefit of psychotherapy is that it teaches people to understand the psychological mechanisms that activate the symptoms of the disorder they suffered (in case they have gone to the psychologist because of a disorder), so that they can lead a lifestyle that minimizes the chances of that happening again. This is very important in the face of diseases such as addictions, in which relapses must be prevented.
Psychological therapy changes your brain
Neurological studies are finding increasing empirical evidence of psychotherapy’s ability to modify brain structures and improve them, achieving a better vital attitude to face day to day.
You can check it by reading this article by psychologist Eduardo Valenciano:
Session confidentiality
The relationship with the psychologist It is confidential and strictly professional. As expressed in the ethical and deontological code of the Official College of Psychologiststhe psychology professional must guarantee the secrecy and confidentiality of everything reported by those who consult him.
Therefore, everything you say in a therapeutic session will be a secret between you and your therapist. This allows for a relational framework in which very intimate fears can be addressed.
