Top 3 Myths About Therapy in Santa Rosa

Jun 15

Cursive text stating, Top 3 Myths about Therapy with yellow flowers in corners

As a local licensed mental health therapist in Santa Rosa, I have heard many misconceptions about therapy over the years from clients, friends, family and community members.

Let’s talk about the top myths about seeing a therapist— what is accurate and what is not. Here are the most common qualms I hear from people hesitant to contact a therapist:

#1 “Therapy is for people with bigger problems than me.”

Unfortunately, many people wait until things get REALLY bad before contacting a therapist. Oftentimes we think that seeking therapy is only reserved for the worst moments of our lives or for people dealing with more significant mental health concerns, but therapy is quite effective even before we get to our breaking point.

It’s true that not everyone needs to be in therapy at all times, however if you start feeling like you are on the wrong track, feel stuck or repeating old patterns that aren’t working for you, please consider contacting a therapist rather than waiting for things to get worse. We can avoid a lot of heartache and unnecessary emotional pain by seeking help sooner than later.

Also remember, it is not helpful to compare our pain and life circumstances to others. We often doubt ourselves and invalidate our emotions when we tell ourselves, “my life isn’t that bad, I should be happy.” Therapists are here to help you learn to cope with all types of stressors in our lives, big or small.

#2 Therapists just sit and listen to you complain, nod their heads and ask, “How does that make you feel?”

Oh no, the dreaded “how does that make you feel?” question. Yes, we therapists do care about emotions, however this is an outdated stereotype of what therapists do when working with their clients. Just like within any profession, you will find a wide range of therapists with different personalities, styles of communication and ways of working with their clients.

We therapists have LOTS of different styles, orientations for treatment, interventions and ways of working with our clients! We have a wide range of therapists in Sonoma County, which can be great for clients looking for something unique to help their problems. Some therapists do have this style of being quite passive in sessions with their clients which can be awkward when we feel the need to fill the silence.

As for my style as a therapist, I like to establish our goals first, so that our work together has a clear direction and I can jump in, give feedback, observations, and alternative perspectives, or teach you new strategies so that you don’t ever feel lost or confused about what occurs during our session time. You should feel like in each session we are doing active work to address the underlying reasons for your challenges, not just reflecting on the stressor of the week.

#3 Talking to a therapist is going to be uncomfortable and awkward

I have often heard potential clients express, “I already have difficulty trusting people, so there is no way I could feel comfortable talking to a stranger about my problems.” I can understand this concern, as therapy is a unique type of relationship that does not exist outside of the therapists’ office. Not only are we (therapists) legally held to keep everything you talk to us about totally private, but it is a one-way relationship in that we (therapists) often don’t share much about our own lives, but our clients share almost everything about their lives with us.

Yes, this can feel a bit awkward at first! However, if you and your therapist have a good dynamic, this should get easier over time. We are trained to provide support to our clients without allowing it to impact us personally, meaning you do not need to “shield” us from things that have been upsetting, distressing or even disgusting to talk about. Oftentimes clients will remark by having this type of trust and opportunity to discuss these issues with a trained professional, there is deep relief not having to hold these issues on their own anymore.

Get Connected with a Therapist in Santa Rosa today

I hope this discussion has helped give you more clarity about what goes on behind the closed doors of a therapist’s office.

If you are ready to take the next step in scheduling with a Santa Rosa therapist, I offer in-person therapy in my office or online therapy for anyone residing in the state of California.

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