OK, so before you laugh at the title I chose…consider this. Of course WE think therapy works or we wouldn’t be in this profession! But…what does the evidence say?
Back in 2012, The American Psychological Association (APA) performed a meta-analysis of peer-reviewed studies and concluded that psychotherapy is effective! In fact, they felt so strongly about the evidence that created a resolution.
Key findings include:
- Psychotherapy is effective for a variety of mental conditions.
- Psychotherapy is effective for many different types of people (ie. young or old).
- The benefits of psychotherapy tend to last longer as compared to psychopharmaceutical drugs.
- The benefits of psychotherapy tend to outweigh the benefits of psychopharmaceutical drugs.
- Psychotherapy, unlike psychopharmaceutical drugs, does not have any side effects.
- Even when psychopharmaceutical intervention is required, a combination of psychotherapy and psychopharmaceuticals is more effective than psychopharmaceuticals alone.
Do you know what else evidence shows? That psychotherapy is underutilized. Why?
One possible reason is that counselors are a poorly-organized group. Compared to physicians, and even social workers, we are literally and figuratively all over the place. For starters, we can’t seem to agree on a title. LPC? LMHC? Secondly, what, precisely, is our professional identity? Do we include marriage therapists and psychologists (who, by the way, appear to be better organized than we are)?
As a poorly-organized group we really cannot advocate for ourselves. We should be marching on Washington, demanding to be heard! We are more effective and safer than pharmaceuticals! This should be a no-brainer!
A second possible reason for the lackluster response to psychotherapy is our “immediate gratification” society. Whether it’s social media, email, Twitter…people expect immediate results. And therapy takes time; months even. Pop a pill? You’ll feel better within an hour. We simply cannot compete.
Finally, there is still some stigma around receiving mental health services. Something goes wrong with your lungs or heart? You visit a doctor to get it fixed. Something goes wrong with your emotional processing? You don’t go to that doctor because you don’t want to be “crazy”.
As the new generation of counselors, we are relying on you to help change the system. I think you can do it!
Yours in the Joy of Knowledge,
Dr. Barbara LoFrisco
