It used to be that people were hesitant to seek counseling when dealing with stressful situations in their lives, even when it started to affect their overall mental health. Fortunately, times have changed and it has become perfectly acceptable to seek treatment and work with a therapist to navigate both short term and long term issues. Doing this enables a person to consider and explore alternative avenues. In order to get the best outcome, it’s helpful to understand the difference between therapy and psychotherapy.
Therapy
Therapy is a broad, umbrella term for treatment aimed at improving physical or mental health, including counseling for short-term, specific issues. This type of therapy is often “goal” oriented and focuses on a current problem.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy provides a supportive and confidential environment to effectively help people work through day-to-day problems and deal with life’s discontents. Traditionally seen as taking place over a longer period of time, it can help people cope with stress after experiences of trauma (physical, emotional, or both) or chronic mental health issues. A trauma informed approach is useful in addressing addictions along with other community support programs and behavioral approaches. It often seeks to uncover root causes and deep seated behavioral patterns.
Psychotherapy treats more serious and protracted problems that can include:
Anger management
Anxiety
Depression
Loneliness due to loss of a loved one.
Poor self-esteem
Helplessness/Feelings of isolation
Many times people who are reaching out for assistance don’t know which type of targeted therapy they need. My office has helped many Long Island patients decide what type of treatment would work best for them. To learn more, contact our office for a consultation and we can help you to begin to uncover what’s troubling you and how we can help you to resolve or gain a better understanding of what steps are needed for you to start thriving again.
