What is Therapy? Let’s break it down.

Develop a clearer picture of what therapy for individuals entails, and how it may or may not help you.

With an informed perspective, you can better determine whether (and when) you should start therapy.

Table of Contents

(click on a question below to be directed quickly)

What is therapy and how does it work?
What do you do in therapy?
What are the types of therapy?
What is the best therapy? What therapy is best for anxiety?
What does therapy solve?
What do you do in therapy?
Is Individual Therapy covered by my health insurance?
How much should therapy cost?
Is therapy worth the money?
Is therapy right for me?

What is therapy and how does it work?

Individual therapy goes by a variety of names: therapy, talk therapy, psychotherapy, counseling, psychosocial therapy, etc. Simply, it is health care for the mind.

It is a process in which one person meets with a mental health professional to work on specific issues that affect one’s mental health, relationships, career, or behavior. 

When you work with a therapist, therapy sessions can focus on mental health issues, relationship problems, mental illness, addictions, life satisfaction, career changes, sex and intimacy, self-confidence, and many other topics that the client chooses to focus on.

What do you do in therapy?

A person, couple, or family meets with a licensed mental health professional. Those would be Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Licensed Psychologist, or Licensed Social Worker. Each one has their own type of professional license.

An individual client, couple, or family will meet with a therapist (usually weekly- sometimes more and sometimes less). Sessions can range anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, but typically last about an hour. Sessions can be conducted in-office, or via online therapy.

During this time the client and therapist will talk about relationships, thoughts, behaviors, feelings, symptoms, and more. 

Essentially, the therapist is looking for what is causing issues in your life, how do those issues and patterns impact you, and what solutions can be applied to create lasting change.

What are the types of therapy?

Broadly, the types of therapy are:

Individual Therapy

Couples Therapy and Marriage Therapy

Family Therapy

Therapists can use a variety of techniques to make change. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical-Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Psychoanalysis focus on insight and behavior. 

Exposure Therapy, Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) focus on resolving trauma.  

Sex Therapy and Systemic Therapies focus on relationship improvement.

There are many other evidence-based approaches to creating change. 

What is best therapy? What therapy is best for anxiety?

Different problems require different approaches. A therapist helps clients determine the right strategy based on the client’s mental health conditions, symptoms and goals. Each treatment approach must be tailored to the client individually.

What Does Therapy Solve?

Individual therapy has been known to help a plethora of issues. From common mental health diagnoses like Depression or Anxiety, to addictions, or eating disorders, or personality disorders and psychotic disorders, and even general life stress. 

Evidence has shown that clients that those that complete therapy are significantly better, happier, and more well-adjusted than those that do not.

Here are some studies and data on the effectiveness of psychotherapy:

The efficacy of short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy for depression: A meta-analysis

Long-term efficacy of psychotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Efficacy of Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Postpartum Depression

Psychotherapy is effective and here’s why

What do you do in therapy?