Therapy Myth Busting

Therapy gets a bad rap! What a shame that something that can help people to live a more meaningful, productive and joyous life carries so much misinformation! I’d like to set the record straight with you:

1. 1.Myth # 1: Therapy is for people who are mentally ill and/or weak. Therapists are actually “mental health” specialists. We are trained to help people to live healthier and more fulfilling lives—most people can improve in these areas no matter how healthy and happy their lives are.
   

2. 2.Myth # 2: Therapists “shrink” people: They will “read into” words I say and will decide what is “wrong” with me. Therapy is a collaborative process intended to meet and serve the needs and desires of the client. Good therapists do not impose their values about how clients “should” be or define problems for clients and then “fix” them. However, in many cases therapists can help clients to see their problems in a different light, or to shift perceived “weaknesses” into strengths, and finally to help clients move from self-criticism and doubt toward pride and accomplishment. How bad does that sound!?
   

3. 3.Myth # 3: Therapy focuses on the past and unnecessarily churns up old problems and experiences that are best left alone. Socrates said: “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Although past events cannot be changed, they can be useful in understanding how we arrived at our current dilemma and can provide the key to resolving present problems. Our life experiences impact who we are today. They can help us to discover faulty assumptions and ideas that block us from seeing options and choices that might be available to us.
   

4. 4.Myth # 4: Therapy is too expensive—I can’t afford it! The truth is, not going to therapy can be much more expensive than going to therapy. Resolving ongoing crises can free people both emotionally and financially. Many people seek to “treat” emotional pain with costly material things, or worse, alcohol/drugs. While these “things” or substances may provide temporary relief and happiness in the moment, they do not provide long-term solutions--and are often destructive. I see therapy as an investment in emotional well-being that can lead to surprising solutions and more joyful living.
   

5. 5.Myth # 5: Therapy is for people who don’t have the strength to solve their own problems. To the contrary! I always tell my clients: “Therapy is not for wimps!” It takes strength, grit and willpower to challenge long-held beliefs and ways of living that no longer serve you. Therapy can help clients to re-structure their thinking and behavior toward a more joyous, more meaningful and more productive life, graced with more loving and fulfilling relationships.
   

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD—THERAPY GETS A BAD RAP!

Lisa M. Quinn, M.F.T.

newport beach, costa mesa, irvine, huntington beach, laguna beach, newport, Corona del mar, orange county, oc