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When Solutions Become Problems

Process > Content, Part II

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Two Ways About It

Two Ways About It

There are two basic ways people go acquiring their mental health needs. The predominant way is to seek help only once your situation has become problematic. This is what people in the field refer to as “crisis-driven.” Scandinavian countries have even constructed a mental health system around the basic fact that when people reach out for help, it is usually as a last resort. The model over there is to compile a team of mental health experts to administer an immediate, compreh

Myths About Therapy: The Problem's With You

Myths About Therapy: The Problem's With You

In my experience, I have mostly found that the only difference between people who are in therapy and those who are not is the environment surrounding them. In other words, people who have support systems that they can turn to in times of trouble are less likely to seek the support of a therapist. But there are a few qualifications to this. First, a person can have a wonderful support group -- friends, family, coworkers, partner(s) -- and yet still not have the type of support

Myths About Therapy: Therapists Have It Figured Out

Myths About Therapy: Therapists Have It Figured Out

It's easy to assume that because therapists have training and experience in solving life’s issues, their own lives are pretty much perfect. It’s an easy assumption to make until you realize that therapists are not educated on what makes a good life, but rather on how to talk to people who are, as Lynn Grodzki puts it, at their “least resourceful”—in other words, people who are at the end of their rope. Therapists are trained in the conversation of therapy—that’s it. They shou

Myths About Therapy: Self-Knowledge

Myths About Therapy: Self-Knowledge

When people ask the question—“Why does therapy help?”—the answer usually has something to do with self-awareness, or self-knowledge. The idea is that the better you know yourself, the more you can control. It is narrative that permeates all levels of mental health, from people who have never gone to therapy to those who deliver it. However, in my experience I have found that self-knowledge is not the end all, be all of therapy. It can help, of course, for the simple reason th

Myths About Therapy: Hard Work

Myths About Therapy: Hard Work

Over the next few weeks, I would like to debunk a few common assumptions people seem to have about therapy, therapists, and clients. Since these assumptions limit the mental health field in a variety of ways, I am a strong advocate for interrogating them. Today’s post will interrogate the idea that hard work is necessary for change. This field has an obsession with the idea that people must work hard to create the change they want. It is probably a direct result of the Americ