Does Therapy Work?

There is no guarantee that any form of therapy will work on any particular challenge or issue. However, there is strong evidence that psychotherapy can be beneficial in many cases. The following excerpt is offered for consideration when seeking professional help. Pacific Coast Counseling always supports getting as much information as possible and then following your inner wisdom and guidance in making decisions about your mental health.

Excerpt from
Consumer Reports:

In a source quoted by the American Psychological Association:

"Nine out of 10 respondents who had sought mental-health care said their condition had improved significantly after psychotherapy treatment.

Among the findings:

• Readers who sought help from their family doctor tended to do well. But people who saw a mental health specialist for more than six months did much better.
• Psychotherapy alone worked as well as psychotherapy combined with medication, like Prozac or Xanax. Most people who took drugs like those did feel they were helpful, but many people reported side effects
• The longer people stayed in therapy, the more they improved. This suggests that limited mental health insurance, and the new trend in health plans — emphasizing short-term therapy — may be misguided.
• Most people who went to a self-help group were very satisfied with the experience and said they got better. People were especially grateful to Alcoholics Anonymous and very loyal to that organization.

"The results: therapy works

Our survey showed that therapy for mental health problems can have a substantial effect. 44% of people whose emotional state was 'very poor' at the start of treatment said they now feel good. Another 43% who started out 'fairly poor' also improved significantly, though somewhere less. Of course, some people probably would have gotten better without treatment, but the vast majority specifically said that therapy helped.

Most people reported they were helped with the specific problems that brought them to therapy, even when those problems were quite severe. Of those who started out 'very poor,' 54% said treatment 'made things a lot better,' while another 1/3 said it helped their probelsm to some extent. The same pattern of improvement held for just about every condition.

Overall, almost everyone who sought help experienced some relief — improvements that made them less troubled and their lives more pleasant. People who started out feeling the worst reported the most progress. Among people no longer in treatment, 2/3 said they'd left because their problems had been resolved or were easier to deal with."

"Emotional distress may not always require professional help, but when problems threaten to become overwhelming or interfere with everyday life there is no need to feel defeated.

Our survey shows there's real help available from every quarter — family doctors, psychotherapists, and self-help groups. Both talk therapy and medication, when warranted, can bring relief to people with a wide range of probelms and deep despair.

With such clear benefits to be had the strict limits on insurance coverage for mental-health care are cause for concern. As the debate over health care continues, we believe that improving mental health coverage is important.

If you want to see a therapist, you should approach therapy as an active consumer. In our survey, the more diligently a person "shopped" for a therapist — consulting with several candidates, checking their experience and qualifications, and speaking to previous clients — the more they ultimately improved. Once in treatment, those who formed a real partnership with their therapist — by being open, even with painful subjects, and by working on issues between sessions — were more likely to progress.

When you look for a therapist, competence and personal chemistry should be your priorities. You'll be sharing your most intimate thoughts and feelings, so it's important to choose someone who puts you at ease."

(To read some of the article and reach a link to the entire report, please click here.)