Misconception: “A therapist is going to tell me something is wrong with me.”

A therapist is an objective and unbiased listener. You can describe any thought, feeling, behavior, relationship, or topic that is causing you pain, such as a toxic friendship or a marriage, or any state that makes you feel stuck in a specific aspect of your life. A therapist can help you cope with any difficult feelings that may have an unpleasant impact on your life.

Misconception: “My therapist is only interested because they are getting paid.”

Individuals who specialize in helping professions want to help those around them. Therapists are interested in the human mind and want to extend that theoretical interest into practice. Your therapist wants to help you overcome your problems; if they were only after the money, many career paths would pay them a lot more had they chosen it.

Misconception: “Therapy is for crazy or weak people.”

The person who chooses therapy is ready to confront their problems and take active steps to solve them. It is much easier to brush everything under the carpet and pretend everything is okay. The reasons to seek counseling or psychotherapy vary from person to person. The client can be interested in developing better social connections or learning techniques to manage stress. They could have recently lost someone and need someone to help with their grief because society will most likely tell them “suck it up and move on” which is counterproductive.

People could be willing to expand on their career success, heal their traumas, combat unhealthy habits, recover from addictions, and control their anger, depression, anxiety, weight, etc.

The list is endless, and we gain significant benefit from facing our problems, even through something so simple as talking about them.

Misconception: “Therapy will turn me against my parents.”

While childhood experiences can be relevant in some cases, therapy is also focused on your thoughts, feelings, and your daily behavior. Therapy styles like Psychodynamic or Psychoanalysis are more focused on the past, while other therapy styles such as cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), Gestalt therapy, and Integrative Humanistic therapy are more focused on the present. Discuss with your therapist what you are expecting and what makes you comfortable. If you want to keep the past in the past, then that is an option you can take.

The list of misconceptions is very long, but feel free to discuss them with your therapist. Therapy can yield excellent results and pinpoint the belief system causing you to make counterproductive decisions. Feel free to browse the list of our therapists on www.saayahealth.com and follow our social media channels for bite-sized tips on improving your mental health.