When did going for 'therapy' become a thing?

[Outofinspiration]

I have noticed increasingly on Instagram etc that more and more people (Instamums and the like) are posting about their 'therapy' sessions. How amazing they are, how everyone should go to therapy blah blah blah. And in real life in the last few weeks 2 of my friends have brought up something their 'therapist' said about this or that.

I thought therapy was an American thing? Is it just a posher, less 'NHS' version of counselling, or is it something different?

Does anyone here go for 'therapy'? Am I missing a trick, is this something I should be doing?!

I had counselling. It was free, very difficult and ultimately very rewarding. Not many people know. Most people think I'm the sort of person who copes with everything, but I actually have terrible anxiety and other issues as a result of being sexually abused as a child. I just cover it up well.

@jellycat - I'm better for it too. (But I don't care to count the number of times I've treated my sessions as a debrief! It's only when I hit a wall and life feels shit that I start to feel vulnerable enough to open up.)

As a psychodynamic client, one of the most significant times in therapy is when we open up to the therapist about how we are feeling about them. That's really what it's about, given that the therapy focuses on the past being present in the relationship between client and therapist.

It can take a long, long, long time to start to feel safe enough to say what we're feeling about the person sitting opposite us.

The reason it's not self indulgent in the pejorative sense is 1) you are worth it as a human being. You are allowed to spend money on things that help you live a more fulfilled life and 2) everyone around you benefits, massively. Literally everyone- from colleagues to shop assistants to your children.

Where I grew up, if I needed to talk I would have had my brothers, childhood friends, lots of cousins and relatives, teachers etc.
I moved to the UK and my support network vanished seemingly overnigt. It took me years to make friends.

I’m the ‘no nonsense’ type, I just get on with things.
When my mental health took a massive tumble, I didn’t have the support I needed. I tried to look inside, but it was like visiting bloody Beirut. I needed help, so I went to see my GP.
Counselling was really helpful. Nothing self indulgent about that.

I agree, and yes there have been times I’ve used the space as a dumping ground (and then been annoyed at myself for not using the time to do “the work”, and then realised that building a strong therapeutic relationship is part of the work, and that dumping is ok ). I guess what I was meaning is that if all someone wants is a space to debrief, therapy is probably not the best use of their time and money - at some point therapy should get under the surface of things,

Have you thought that it’s only recently that more people are talking about mental health and taking it seriously? Therefore seeing their mental health needing attention just as they would if they had a broken leg, a slipped disc or hip problems (and so on...).

@FiveAcorns in terms of the difference between counselling and psychotherapy:
Isn’t the training different? Counselling courses and shorter and less demanding by far -no?

So for me the whole publicity about this is fantastic!!!
Mental illness has been in the shadows for so long as people not being strong enough to cope with things life has thrown at them.

Instagram posts of “influencers” sharing that there are things that they need support with it invaluable to a whole generation of people being sold the instagram perfect life.

For me I had held it together for soo long but after being raped as an 11 year old it was too much to cope and I had a massive breakdown in 2008 and tried to commit suicide.
Therapy broke down all of my “knowns” and rebuilt my belief and hope in the world and my place in it.

If it becomes trendy I would be delighted. Perhaps then when hideous things happen people may not wait 30 years to get help (as I did)

@bedforaweek - like I say, depends who you ask. Some counselling courses are in depth, some psychotherapy courses have a worrying lack of personal development modules. Far too many therapists out there who haven’t dealt with their own demons.

My workmates and I often chat about depression, going to therapy, SSRIs, and mental health in general. This openness is a beautiful thing and just encourages others to feel less alone about something that was previously considered shameful.
And who cares if it's "American"? Not all things from the US are necessarily bad.

I’m not sure it promotes the idea that there is a “ correct” way to be.

Different for people that have suffered trama. But you don’t neceessarily have poor mental health because you feel life has been shit for a few years or you haven’t fulfilled your potential. I don’t like the idea that we would all be better with help.

Going to agree with @AFistfulofDolores1 here.

I've had CBT and counselling on the NHS. Neither really helped long term. Waited to access psychotherapy, but in the end found one locally, and I'm still seeing them 6 years later. I needed help as my anxiety and depression were affecting my day-to-day life and the in depth nature of it has really helped me grow as a person and get control back in my life.

A worrying thing is that there is no statutory regulation in this area. Anyone can call themselves a counsellor or therapist. Membership of a professional body, like BACP, shows that you have at least completed in depth training. It's important to check potential counsellors or therapists out.

I am honest with people that I'm in therapy (my employer knows), but I don't discuss details with them - it's private IMO.

StrumpersPlunkett I'm glad you're getting the support you need finally.

In terms of training there’s a certificate level counselling skills course which usually is around 120 hours of training but which wouldn’t qualify you to practice as a counsellor. Regardless of what you call yourself, working with someone’s psyche should demand significant levels of training.

The problem is there are no minimum training standards for counsellors or psychotherapists in the way that there are for doctors, psychologists or social workers so courses vary hugely. Like every profession there’s good and not so good.

Instagramming about it seems a bit weird to me, like instagramming about going to the GP/Hospital etc. I wouldn't think anyone would be remotely interested! If it came up in convo though, I wouldn't hide it.

I'm currently having psychotherapy as a result of crippling anxiety which has been ruining my life (no exaggeration),and I have had it, I have now realised through therapy, in one way or another since I was about 6 years old. This therapy is expensive (£60 per hour in my case) but life changing. I've finally began to get to the root causes of why my anxiety is so bad, no other treatment I've had has done this. I cried after my last session as the therapist made me realise something so deep and buried in my past which I'd been denying for years and I finally confronted it.
I've tried multiple types of anxiety treatment and therapy in the past and this type is the only one which works for me, CBT in particular did nothing whatsoever, I felt entirely fobbed off, complete waste of time for me. It was I believe because in my case I didn't have a specific issue/trauma I wanted to 'sort out', it was a combination of things, some of which I wasn't entirely sure what they were at the time.

Entirely agree with pp that it is not self indulgent because it benefits everyone around you. In my case I very well believe I could have ended up doing something incredibly stupid and dangerous as a result of my terrible anxiety if I had not brought it under control, and it could easily have ended my relationship if I had not done so as well. Life changing and probably life saving.

I however would never post about it on social media, the only people who currently know I'm having these sessions are my partner and my parents. That's just me though. I think it's great that people are more open about it, I have had conversations with friends in the past about SSRIs and treatments that we've been having, even if we don't discuss our specific issues it's nice to not feel alone.

So it may well be a 'thing' but that can only be a good thing, if more people are getting help and improving their lives. I just wish it was cheaper and easier to access

@WhyNotMe40 -I've heard that EMDR is really effective for PTSD. Good luck x

Thanks @Messyisthenewtidy

I have had counselling a few times. Once through my Drs and she was dire. I found a private one, I just wish i could afford her regularly.
They can help.

When I was training (to be a therapist) I had to go for therapy for 5 years.

It was very hard, often really painful and I was literally transformed by the end.

Ive been working now for almost 20 years and I have really good mental health. I don't take it for granted as I've got peri-menopause and have had horrible hot flashes and insane, short lived rage - literally like a light switch going off.

If I didn't have such good mental health then I wouldn't know it was peri-menopause. And I'd likely get fobbed off by the doctor when I said I was having mood swings

Pennywise - I totally agree that CBT is more for sorting out a specific issue. Two people I know who've had success with it have both been dealing with phobia type issues, so a level of irrational thought, something that can be unravelled and rebuilt. In my case the problem was rational and so it couldn't really fix it - but helped isolate it if nothing else. It's great that the NHS are embracing it but I would imagine there's a lot of people who now find themselves doing CBT when they need something more. I'm really glad you've managed to get effective psychotherapy.

I don't know why but your posts remind me of the messages I got in my youth " therapy is for rich people,bored housewives and the proper crazies" "normal everyday people don't have the time to faff about with such things " "what do you have to be depressed about " followed by all the good things.

OP - what do you actually mean? Its such a vague opening sentence. Are you asking when therapy became a thing? Its not a thing - its something people use to help themselves - its not a 'fad, nor a 'cool' thing - its help when people have exhausted all other avenues and they are still struggling. What are you asking?

I think it’s a good thing, and I believe in some way everyone would benefit from non judgmental conversations with someone you have no emotionally connection to. Not necessarily even in just a mental health sense, but just to help talk things through and learn more about yourself.

It used to be that it was seen as weak to discuss how you felt or reach out for help, which caused generations of repressed people who couldn’t communicate and their trauma came out in other ways. I’m glad that’s slowly becoming no longer the case.

If it becomes trendy I would be delighted. Perhaps then when hideous things happen people may not wait 30 years to get help (as I did)

As someone who also waited and 30 years to get help I agree with this completely.