People don’t tend to view seeking therapy in a positive light.
There are all of these opinions, speculations, and misconceptions about getting help from therapists.
And most –if not all– of these beliefs are wrong or misguided.
You should never feel any shame whatsoever about seeking therapy. For many, it is the first step to experiencing inner healing and personal growth.
Let’s debunk 10 therapy myths that stop people from getting help so you can start your healing journey one step forward at a time.
Myth #1: “Therapy is for Crazy People”
Firstly, nobody who seeks therapy is “crazy”, and I’m glad that I’m debunking this stereotype about mental health treatment. You shouldn’t label somebody as crazy just because they’re going through severe mental issues.
Secondly, I think people mix therapists up with psychiatrists.
There’s a difference between a therapist and a psychiatrist. Both professionals help with people’s mental issues. However:
- Therapists are trained or licensed to provide counseling and behavioral techniques to help with your situation
- Psychiatrists are doctors who can give medication for mental disorders if they determine you need it
This “therapy is for crazy people” nonsense is probably because people often see somebody with something like bipolar disorder, for example, and associate that with “craziness”.
The Truth: Anyone Can Seek Therapy
Regardless, it’s degrading and insulting to think that someone going through real-life mental struggles is crazy for trying to seek healing and growth from their pain.
Therapy –and psychiatry for that matter– is for all who need it, and you are never crazy for seeking it.
Britani, the actual therapist here, might get mad at me for saying this, but I’m saying it anyway: if you call somebody crazy for seeking necessary help to get well, you’re the crazy one.
Myth #2: “Therapy is Just Common Sense Advice”
Some believe that the advice you receive from therapists is just common sense. They think that you can solve the issues you have by doing a quick web search and applying that advice to your life.
The Truth: Therapy is Research-backed Strategies to Get You Back on Track
Sure, you can try to do your own search, but how far will that get you?
Therapists are trained professionals; they have plenty of research-supported tools and advice that you won’t find on your own –at least not easily.
Remember: therapists are educated in the ways of some of the greatest in the field of psychology, like Sigmund Freud, Erik Erikson, and Ivan Pavlov.
If you don’t know who any of these people are, just know that they –and plenty more– have essentially built the foundation of what effective mental health treatment looks like today.
Myth #3: “You’re Supposed to Seek Therapy for Major Life Events”
Many times, people don’t consider therapy unless they’ve been through something major, like:
- Marriage issues/divorce
- Recovering from abuse
- Dealing with loss
- Healing from trauma
For most other life situations, people are likely to just brush it off or use unhealthy methods to cope with the pain.
The Truth: You Can Seek Therapy for Minor Life Events, too
However, you’re more than welcome to seek therapy even when something is objectively minor.
Just because something is minor to others doesn’t mean it’s minor to you. And even if it is minor in your eyes, please don’t stockpile minor life events until they turn into a major mental health issue.
So yes, please feel free to seek therapy even when it’s for comparatively small problems. It’s better to knock out the issues sooner than let them turn into a bigger problem later.
Myth #4: “All Therapy is the Same, so if One Therapist Doesn’t Work, None Will”
As I mentioned earlier, the foundation of mental health treatment was established by some great names in the psychology field.
Therapists get educated in many of their techniques to the point that everyone seemingly gets the same training and education.
The Truth: Therapy is not ‘One Size Fits All’
There is one truth you should keep in mind: therapy is a personalized experience.
You’re there to talk about whatever it is you want to get healing from. Sure, you should try out different therapists until you find one that vibes with you the best, but don’t expect the exact same advice from each session.
Sessions can be specific to a particular topic. That’s why people go to specialized therapists.
For example, therapists choose to get licensure in specific fields like:
- Marriage and family therapy
- Child and adolescent development
- Trauma
- Substance abuse
And much more.
It all just depends on what help you need when you decide to go.
Myth #5: “Why Seek Therapy When I Can Go to My Friends?”
Sometimes, it’s not that convenient to get help from a therapist. Our closest friends are usually on standby when needed. Is there much of a point in going to therapy when good acquaintances are right there and free?
The Truth: Because Your Friends Can Only Offer Limited Advice
If you have close people in your life who will lend an ear, provide comfort, and give pretty good advice, that’s a blessing.
But they aren’t therapists.
Your friends have their own lives to handle. They can’t devote X amount of time every single week, checking your healing progress, and provide strong counsel as thoroughly as therapists can.
Therapists are in this profession to be that person to provide you with whatever amount of time you need to heal at your own pace. And their advice won’t be biased or subjective to their personal experiences or knowledge of who you are, unlike your friends.
Myth #6: “Therapists Don’t Understand Real-world Problems”
People tend to think that therapists won’t know enough to be helpful. They sometimes assume that they don’t experience enough of life to offer any real advice.
The Truth: Therapists are People, too
You have to remember that therapists weren’t born therapists. They’ve had childhoods, adolescent lives, and their own journeys into adulthood.
There’s no telling what therapists have experienced in their personal lives!
It shouldn’t be surprising to learn that some therapists do this profession because of the real-world problems they’ve experienced. Some therapists had to endure many hardships, probably alone without a resource. And since they didn’t have that resource, they’ve dedicated their career to being that resource for others who went through similar hardships.
That’s why I mentioned earlier that therapy is never a one-size-fits-all kind of situation. Therapists specialize in many different mental health categories; you just gotta find the one best suited for your needs, goals, and desires.
Myth #7: “Talking About My Problems Makes Me Feel Worse”
When this thought pops into your head when considering seeking therapy, you’ve probably asked yourself one of these questions before:
- “Is going to therapy a sign of weakness?”
- “How is talking things out going to help anything?”
- “Do I really feel comfortable opening up to a complete stranger about my issues?”
That last thought has hovered around in my brain several times. Because I’m a very closed-off, private, distant individual, I fully get why people are afraid to go to therapy for this limiting belief.
The last thing you’d want is to trauma dump onto someone who doesn’t know anything at all about you. Even though you paid to be there, just knowing all of those terrible feelings are about to be released from your inner darkness is fear-inducing.
But the reality of it is…
The Truth: Bottling up Your Problems Won’t Make You Feel Better
You are MUCH better off talking out your issues than bottling them in. Trust me.
Throughout most of my college career, I bottled so much in. I put on this facade that I was some outgoing, life-of-the-party individual just to hide my true pains and feelings.
But hiding the thoughts did nothing for me. Yes, it was somewhat nice knowing that nobody knew the parts of me that I didn’t want to be seen. But those parts I hid hindered my personal growth.
It wasn’t until one night that I pretty much had a group therapy session with my bible study group that I felt like a huge burden was lifted off of me. Yes, I had a higher level of comfort with my bible group than I would with a therapist. But letting go of that unnecessary effort of hiding my pain felt FREEING.
And that’s what seeking therapy will do for you, too.
Stop burdening yourself with going through hoops and ladders to hide the truth from everyone, knowing that those are the parts of you that you need to heal from. And don’t shy away from opening up because of a fear of not knowing what’ll happen next.
Myth #8: “Therapists Only Want Your Money”
When we ask our friends for a space to vent, they don’t ask for money. At most, they ask for some other favor in return. Even random people online offer pretty sound life advice, and we never have to pay a dime for it.
So why should you put out money for therapy? Doesn’t that make the help you receive feel inauthentic?
The Truth:
Let me put this perspective in your mind.
You wouldn’t say something similar about teachers, would you? They spend a few hours of their day educating you or your children. Some topics you can teach yourself, yet you still pay teachers in some way.
You are seeking professional help; this isn’t the kind of help that any random person can just pop up in your life and instantly heal you in one interaction.
Therapists will charge for their work, but like teachers, they love what they’re doing or love helping others in that capacity.
Sure, there are very few who pretend to listen just to collect that income. And that’s why you need to study them as they’re studying you. This way, you can tell whether the therapist you’re seeing genuinely wants to help you or is only there to get money from you.
One bad apple doesn’t reflect the entire field.
Myth #9: “There’s Too Much Shame and Embarrassment With Seeking Therapy”
Asking for help from anybody makes us feel defeated at times. We start to feel like we’re inferior and weak for needing to seek help.
Now we should try to seek help from a therapist, of all people??
The Truth: You Should Never Feel Ashamed to Ask for Help
The answer is yes; yes, you should still seek a therapist. And NO, you should never feel ashamed about it.
In fact, you should never feel ashamed to ask for help in any capacity.
You should feel empowered, not embarrassed, that you considered seeing a therapist. It shows that you genuinely care about your well-being and desire to heal.
Many people struggle to even slightly talk about the internal dark thoughts in their minds. And they continue to let their thoughts destroy them from the inside. That’s not healthy at all!
But not you. You’re making it a mission, despite how difficult it feels, to commit to having or gaining a healthy brain. You want to live life the way you want to.
Because of that, you should never feel ashamed for seeing a therapist. Instead, give yourself a round of applause for trying to get healthier.
After all, we tend to hype others up for going to the gym for their physical health. Why not do the same for your own mental health?
Regardless of how hard it is to ask for any kind of help, do it anyway.
Myth #10: “It’s too Expensive to Get Help from Therapists.”
This one might be THE most common misconception about seeing a therapist. And understandably so.
Just one therapy session could cost you over $250. For that price, you’d feel rushed to try to “solve” your problems in one session just to avoid draining your bank account.
The Truth: There are Plenty of Affordable Options
As expensive as sessions are, you don’t have to be afraid of your bank account hitting zero. You can still gain the mental support you need without breaking the bank. And here are a few budget-friendly options you can try:
- Check your insurance plan
Oftentimes, mental health services are included in your medical insurance. See what services are covered, then research any providers that accept your insurance plan.
- Consider group therapy
If one-on-one sessions are a little too over budget, this is an affordable alternative. Usually, group therapy focuses on one specific problem, like trauma response, anxiety, and more. You gain a bonus of having accountability partners in your mental health journey.
- Look into online therapy.
Online therapy is a convenient option that lets you seek therapy on your terms from the comfort of wherever you wish to be. But while online therapy is secure, check to ensure that the therapist you’re talking to is licensed to work in their state first.
- Ask your job’s HR about EAPs (Employee Assistance Programs)
It is likely part of your employer’s benefits package. These programs provide confidential assessments to see what assistance is available for things like drug/alcohol abuse, mental health, and many other work or personal life issues.
Seeking Therapy Doesn’t Need to be Complicated
Now that you’ve gotten the truth about some of the common misconceptions of seeking a therapist, what’s your next move?
We hope that you feel more confident and less worried about seeking therapy after reading this. If you book that session, let us know so we can congratulate you for trying to take one step forward!
