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?!

Not every therapist costs £50 a session and you don't have to go every week either.

I don't have a lot of money but paying £35 every fortnight is better than being dead which is my alternative.

Thank you @MintySky for taking the time to post that

@MintySky Excellent post.

I’m so happy it’s become a thing which is talked about. If it helps one person then great.

I myself can’t say I need help out loud yet. Fine online like this but to see someone there is no way. And I’m at the point there I need help as my health is getting worse and worse and I don’t think I can cope much longer before I snap and have to see someone about help

My husband and MIL want me to go to therapy to talk about my dad. I don't feel brave enough? It sounds silly. I dunno. I just don't want too yet.

nothingtowearever It’s not silly at all it can take time to get into the right place before you ask for help.

I don't have a lot of money but paying £35 every fortnight is better than being dead which is my alternative

I don't have that, and healthcare services don't seem bothered that being dead is a high possibility.

I know this has been said upthread, @Outofinspiration, but don't underestimate your ability to ask for lower rates. The training institute that I studied at started at £5.

@nothingtowearever - and therapy only really works when you decide for yourself that you're ready to go. Very rarely does it work when someone else suggests it (though I've seen it work once this way in my own life).

As a qualified counsellor and also qualified psychotherapist I’d say the lines between the two are very blurred.

IME counselling is looked in as the slightly do-gooder, amateur side of therapy. When I started a Masters in psychotherapy some of the course tutors were very patronising about my counselling training and experience, however done well, even very basic Diploma level counselling can be transformative. And equally, done badly, very highly trained psychotherapists and analysts can be completely useless.

I understand how scary it is @nothingtowearever. Don't do it on everyones say so. It's better to do it when your ready.

Does anyone know any good online options. I just can’t talk to people about it face to face

I have a psychotherapy masters and a PGDip in CBT and I agree with whyohwhy, the lines are too blurred between counselling and psychotherapy for them to be effectively defined, although I know there's been a bit of a controversial attempt by SCoPEd recently to make it clearer.

I work for the NHS, we provide loads of great interventions, up to 20 sessions. The postcode lottery is either on your side or not sadly though.

'UKCP is fine if you want someone trained in psychodynamic'
you see on this thread we can see the problem with knowing what to look for as we are all saying something different!

I would not recommend the ukcp or back for psychoanalytic work- but would only recommend the bpc for adults (which accredits places like the tavistock, institute of psychoanalysis, bpf etc) or the ACP for children and adolescents (accredits the tavistock training and ipcapa etc)

Not sure most people will know whether they want psychoanalytic work or cbt or others anyway- let alone which accrediting body to look at. Its terrible these aren't protected terms in my opinion.

And yes, clients who have been 'sent' rarely engage well.

I have a therapist for complex PTSD. It's taken over a decade to seek help. I never refer to it on social media and very few people know I go. It's incredibly expensive, but has made a difference.

Years ago I tried a couple of counsellors but neither had the skills to deal with C-ptsd. You need to find the right fit.

And the right discipline. EMDR was helpful.

Jiggles I totally know what you mean.
I was sent under threat of being sectioned if I didn’t attend. Thankfully due to some admin errors I was seen privately with the nhs paying. It took about 6 weeks if 3 hour sessions for me to say anything at all and another few months before I could talk about anything deeper than the weather or traffic.
It has been invaluable to me and my family. I will always have ptsd as my soft underbelly but I am in a much better place to control it.

People in your profession don’t get the sexy awards or big praise but you do save lives and change them for the better. Thank you for all that you do. 💐

As others said, therapy is the general term for usually mental health treatments and counseling was one type of talking therapy.

I think it can be seen as an American thing on social media as on one hand there is a lot of stigma and difficulty discussing it in detail so those who do discuss it tend to just say therapy and in some circles it is a bit of a buzzword, while on the other hand, many US insurance companies cover certain types and even some school help kids access some types so - for those who can - it's kinda seen as normal as dental care. At least it did to me as a kid in the Midwestern US - where I grew up, I had mostly group therapy in schools as well as counseling, there were therapist-led support groups in many places and it kinda felt like 'many people need some help to get by sometimes', I didn't realize how unusual that was until I left.

I do think it is sad how difficult many kinds of therapy can be to access it in the UK. I've tried looking many times near me and it does kinda come across as a luxury and for self-development with support for mental health issues being only for extreme cases if in that bad luck one gets really lucky.

I have therapy for ptsd and GAD. It has literally saved my life.

It’s fantastic more people feel able to seek help

Many others could benefit from therapy

Good evening, I’m a therapist. So counselling is a form of talking therapy. The distinction between counselling and psychotherapy is really tricky and people argue about it! I think it’s a continuum with counselling for say a specific issue at one end and psychotherapy for deeply rooted issues that go back to childhhod. The training for both counselling and psychotherpay varies hugely and there are many aporoaches and schools of thought. Research suggests the main factor in success of therapy isn’t the type of therapy, how long you have it etc, but the client - you- and how hopeful you ate about whether it will work, how much support you have in your life generally and so on; the remaining benefit is a good relationship with the therapist. Yes, you can get therapy on the NHS - through something called IAPT. There are also agencies that offer low cost or free therapy - but both options have waiting lists and therapy may be limited to a fixed number of sessions. There are many private therapists out there. When choosing someone, make sure they are members of a recognised professional body such as BACP or UKCP. Therapy is not self-indulgent, usually it’s enlightening and can be hard work. Sorry if PP have posted this information already, haven’t caught all of the thread.

Just my twopence worth here

I've always thought "therapy" was a bit self indulgent. Based mainly on a dear friend who has been seeing her therapist for a a decade + and doesn't seem to have made any "progress". Her therapist also questioned her going on to medication for anxiety (and she was BF'ing at the time and the therapist threw that out there as well "you shouldn't medicate whilst BF" not the therapists call IMO and the medication was BF safe).....I basically had a very small sample of people I knew in RL who had therapy openly

In January 2018 we had DC3 and she was whisked to Neonatal and subsequently diagnosed with a rare and life changing genetic condition that is going to effect us all, forever.

I coped so well to begin with. Was so "strong" and "brave". Except inside I was falling apart.

Had NHS counselling for 3 months last year, felt a lot better but have now developed a lot of health / future related anxiety and am on my knees with worry, sadness and fear. I'm due to start CBT soon.

So OP, be mindful that there is always the potential for life to fuck us over and send us into a tailspin where we need outside help and support.

@StrumpersPlunkett back at you my love, glad you've found therapy helpful and been able to find some peace. Much love 💖

Curious thread. I’ve had therapy on and off over a few years, and for me it was essential. It was also one of the hardest things I have ever done but it helped immensely. I’m glad threads like this exist because it shines a light on how important mental health is. I’m also glad (and would have once been vaguely jealous!) OP does see it as a little self-indulgent - it simply means OP hasn’t been in that mental space, or had certain life experiences that have rendered therapy essential, so doesn’t understand. I’d consider her to be very fortunate indeed.

I start next week. I was diagnosed with cancer at 38 and ten years later I have found out I have a rare gene mutation that means I am susceptible to all kinds of rare cancer. I had a preventative double mastectomy two months ago and have oophorectomy later in the year. Add to that dysfunctional parents. I'm hoping to get some coping strategies and learn to set boundaries with my family.