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Could You Benefit from Therapy?

Here’s what you need to know about the benefits of therapy.

By Claire PetersPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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Do you feel anxious? Do you feel sad? Are you having trouble with a relative or a relationship? Is your job stressing you out?

These are questions that virtually everyone will be able to answer in the affirmative at one time or another. While many of us still think about mental health as a binary thing, the fact is that we all deal with stress and other basic mental health issues once in a while. Most Americans rate their stress as moderate to high. And many of us deal with far worse than the occasional stressful day—whether we realize it or not.

And, for many of us, therapy can help. Being proactive about our mental health care is something that more of us can do. We go to our primary care physicians for checkups, so why don’t we make regular visits to psychiatrists, psychologists, or therapists as well? Experts say that we should. Here’s what you need to know about the benefits of therapy.

Misconceptions About Therapy

Talk therapy, like mental health treatment in general, is not well-understood by the public. Far too many of us think of talk therapy as something that is exclusively for those with serious mental illnesses. But that’s not really true.

First of all, far more people are dealing with mental health issues than we might suppose. An estimated 5.7 percent of all Americans experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Others deal with depression. Neither of these disorders is necessarily easy to spot in others—we shouldn’t assume that anyone (including ourselves) needs to “act crazy” to go to therapy.

Second of all, therapy is not just helpful for serious long-term mental health conditions. Therapy can help us fix issues with our relationships or cope with everyday problems. It can be useful during periods of grief. It can help you with just about any kind of situation that involves your mental health or emotions.

Therapy can have real and lasting benefits. Studies show that therapy can improve our mood and even reduce physical symptoms. The effects of therapy endure long after sessions end, too—which is great, but not a suggestion that you stop attending therapy. It can be a lifelong part of a great health care routine.

Finding a Therapist Near You

You have a lot of reasons to consider therapy. But people also have reasons to hold back. One of the most surprising and frustrating reasons is that people simply aren’t aware of how easy it is to find a therapist near them.

Starting your search can be as simple as using a search engine with the query “therapist near me.” A local search will yield local results, say expert therapists in Baltimore, but you can also get localized results by turning to your health insurance provider. If you have a policy in Baltimore, for instance, your in-network options will be for therapists in the Baltimore area. Your health insurance provider may have a sortable list for you to look through on their website. Many plans offer out-of-network coverage, which creates another option.

Another way to find a therapist is to turn to your primary care physician for a referral. Your primary care provider may have someone who he or she recommends highly. This may also help ensure that visits to your therapist are covered by your health insurance policy (of course, it’s always a good idea to give your insurance provider a call to confirm coverage so that you’re not saddled with surprise bills).

Finding a therapist in your area probably isn’t as tough as you think it is. And getting therapy has a lot of benefits. Consider adding therapy to your health routine!

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