An article in the NY times came out yesterday in which the author argued, among other things, that psychotherapy “has an image problem.” He says that many people want psychotherapy but that access to it has gone down. Here is the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/opinion/psychotherapys-image-problem.html?_r=0
It is very true the drug companies have WAY MORE power, money and influence on society than do a thousand psychologists or therapists. However, psychotherapy has WAY MORE to offer to people than medicine alone or often instead of medicine. Yet, the general public simply HAS NO IDEA that psychotherapy is an empirically supported way that people can find real and lasting change. Here is a study that compares two of the most well-known types of psychotherapy, CBT and psychodynamic therapies: http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=1688271
The American Journal of Psychiatry is a highly rigorous and established academic journal. (I am proud to say that I am published in the AJP in 2005 for a study I worked on about PTSD). Anyway, CBT and psychodynamic therapy BOTH help people depending on the type of therapy you want. I provide psychodynamic therapy but the other approach is good too.
I hope that posts like these will somehow show that psychotherapy is an empirically supported (means that scientific research has tested it) way to heal from past hurts, help current life stressors, and grow into a more fulfilling life. I hope you will consider entering psychotherapy today.
Thanks,
JB