Some people still believe that therapy is for “crazy ones”, for those that are weak or that is a luxury. Most of my clients believe that I have a magical pill that in a few sessions it will cure them or completely treat their issue. But what exactly is therapy for and what does a therapist do?
To answer that question, I will recall what a Brazilian professor of mine always emphasized: the importance of the culture in one’s mental health development. If you go to any library, you might find books about “how to be truly happy”, “learning how to leave your anxiety behind”, “the 3 steps to happiness” etc. Culture in general has this bias that conditions people to be believe that suffering is not good, so we try multiples ways of getting rid of these negative feelings. Some people, believing on that and trying to accomplish this impossible mission, enter my therapy room.
For those, I have to deliver the unfortunate bad news that therapy is not about magic powers and that it will never eliminate suffering, as it is an inherit condition to humans. What we therapists can do is to help our client to deal with their difficulties and challenges in a better way. Pain, sadness, anxiety, fear, and all other emotional negative aspects to life will always be there, but therapy will support the patient to deal with their daily challenges in a different and better way, helping their quality of life to improve even in the presence of all those negative feelings.
Written By:
Andrea Fernandes Thomaz
Counsellor & Psychotherapist
SACAC Counselling