Psychotherapy Helps People Manage Their Lives Better

By Kathi Whitten, LCSW

No. VA Psychotherapy Associates

. http://www.kathiwhitten.com/

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Psychotherapy Helps People Manage Their Lives Better

People come to therapy because they are having some kind of difficulty getting their life needs met or are having interpersonal difficulties. This can be because of situations in which their usual life strategies and coping skills are not currently working for them or because of medical conditions like depression, anxiety, stress or addiction.

An initial assessment will identify your background, current life situation and needs. Then it's possible to decide how to focus the treatment. There isn't a “one-size-fits-all” approach to helping anyone in therapy. Each person has a unique situation and life story, and is seeking help for very personal reasons. There's not just one theory or approach that would apply to everyone. All types of therapy are aimed at helping a person find more satisfying ways to meet life's challenges in ways consistent with their own values and life circumstances.

People usually wonder how long psychotherapy will take. There isn't an exact answer to that. It depends upon many factors. Some concerns are very clear and need only several sessions until the person feels able to manage on their own. These are usually situations where someone has a relatively clearly defined problem that needs just some talking through for them to handle it with confidence.

Therapy lasts longer when there are multiple concerns being addressed. Some conditions do take longer to lessen or resolve, especially if dealing with issues that have a long history, but the goal of the psychotherapist will always be the same to help a person achieve improved functioning in getting their needs met.

The life skills and strategies we commonly employ for situations are those we've developed over the course of our lives in response to many experiences. If newer or more effective ways of handling things are needed, it might take time to let go of old, reflexive ways of dealing with things while learning to use new ones.

Because psychotherapy deals with peopleeach of whom has unique needs and abilities to get those needs met it is impossible to say in advance how many sessions will be needed to make the changes you desire.

But it is possible to talk early on about what concerns you want to deal with. In this way, you will help shape how the therapy will proceed, and you, of course, have input at every step of

the way.