What is Psychotherapy & what happens in therapy?

You might be wondering "What is psychotherapy?", "What happens in therapy?", "Do I need therapy?" - all of which are valid and important questions to ask before you consider starting therapy if you haven't before.

So, what is Psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy (also known as 'talk therapy') is an approach or method that treats mental health challenges and issues. It entails a structured process where a trained and qualified professional helps a client/patient explore what life is presenting for them. The professional could be a 'psychotherapist, psychologist or psychiatrist'. Psychotherapy is also interchangeably used with the terms 'counselling' or 'therapy'.

You as the client would be offered a safe and confidential space to understand the experiences you're having and make sense of them, in order to reduce confusion, distress and find better coping mechanisms so you can live a more meaningful life that you are in control of. The therapist usually helps you explore your thoughts, feelings, behaviours and relationships in order to support personal growth and behavioural change. Therapy is there to also support emotional healing - all dependent on what brings you to therapy.

People seek therapy for a variety of reasons like anxiety, depression, trauma, feelings of sadness, feeling stuck, stress, bereavement, relationship issues, sex issues, to name a few.

You do not have to be in a crisis to seek therapy or benefit from it - many people use therapy for personal and emotional growth, as well as clarity. Particularly if someone is experiencing life transitions they may seek therapy to support them throughout the process.

Psychotherapy should always be confidential - a therapist holds an ethical and legal duty to maintain confidentiality. What you speak about in your sessions with your therapist should be confidential, unless there is risk of harm to self or others (safety risks) . Your therapist has a duty to inform you of exceptions to confidentiality when you begin therapy.

A psychotherapist does not give 'advice', rather helps and supports you to understand yourself and facilitate changes.

What happens in therapy?

What exactly happens in therapy is to some extent dependent on your therapist training modality and background. Not all psychotherapists work in the same way as there are different theoretical backgrounds, modalities and approaches that each therapist would have chosen to train in.

The most common types of therapy include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Focuses on changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors

• Psychodynamic Therapy: Explores unconscious patterns, childhood, and deep emotional themes - this entails looking at your past lived experiences

• Humanistic Therapy: Emphasizes self-awareness and personal meaning, places the client at the centre of the work (the therapist here will take more of a back seat in offering meaning to the challenges you're experiencing)

• Trauma-informed Therapies (e.g., EMDR): Help process traumatic memories safely

• Relational Therapy: Explores interpersonal dynamics and attachment (usually a couples therapist or relationship therapist)

Sessions are typically 50 minutes long, there are other variations too. For example, sometimes people in couples therapy might ask for 1.5 hours or 2 hours.

Typically, sessions are weekly - this is what the science shows about achieving the most effective therapeutic outcomes.

What is Psychotherapy? What happens in therapy?

"Should I always be in therapy?"

Real psychotherapy is about supporting people to become autonomous and in control of their own lives. It is about helping people live more presently, more responsibly and authentically, with greater resilience. A therapist should encourage awareness and offer you concrete coping tools to deal with life's challenges.

Therefore, your goal eventually is to stop therapy. It is there to create autonomy and resurface your individuality - not to create a codependent relationship where you are enmeshed with your therapist. Eventually, you should come to a stage where you say, "I am ready to do this by myself".

Of course, how long this takes will depend on the complexity and severity of what you have experience and are experiencing.

In conclusion...

There are many psychotherapists/counsellors/therapists/psychologists out there that can help you. The landscape of therapy in London is large, and you can search for qualified therapists in London through sites such as the Counselling Directory or the BACP website (British Associate for Counselling and Psychotherapy).

You could also type "psychotherapist near me" in Google and you should be able to receive search results of therapists around your area.

Therapy works, but only if you do the work. It is certainly not for everyone - but always worth giving it a go!