What is Psychotherapy?

What is Psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy is an interactive, relational way of relieving emotional distress and making positive changes in the way you feel and think. It is more than just talking about your problems. Psychotherapy involves discovering new ways to look at and think about your problems and your life, behavioral techniques to help you change negative ways of feeling such as fear and anxiety, skill-building to learn how to deal with difficult situations and relationships, and much more.

Perhaps most importantly, psychotherapy takes place in a relationship with the psychologist in which you are cared about and what you think and feel is accepted. That's an unusual experience for many individuals and is one of the most positive aspects of working with a psychologist.  

Psychotherapy can be helpful in just a few sessions, but it may also continue for months or occasionally even years. Research shows that psychotherapy is about as effective as medication for problems such as anxiety and depression, and a combination of both treatments is often most effective. Psychologists can coordinate your care with your primary care physician or psychiatrist if medication is prescribed for you.  

Psychotherapy clients also have very specific rights. You have the right to be actively involved in determining your treatment goals and the plan for achieving them. You also are entitled to know about the benefits and possible risks of the services that are proposed to you, alternatives to those services and the likely consequences of not receiving help. You also have the right to end psychotherapy at any time. 

Your psychological records are legally protected and confidential. A psychologist will not release any information about you, including that you are a client, unless you sign a written consent form permitting information to be released, the information is ordered by a court, you are in a life-threatening situation or someone else is in a life-threatening situation, or there is suspected abuse or neglect of a child or of a person who is elderly or incapacitated, which the law requires be reported to local authorities.

Psychotherapy is a powerful process that can ease emotional suffering, improve your relationships and change your life. If you think you need psychotherapy, we hope you’ll take the first step of finding a psychologist who can help you.