The world of psychology in general, and the profession of psychotherapists in particular , are very likely to be the basis of many myths that are circulating in popular culture and are completely false. Myths about the role of therapists, about mental disorders and about the possibilities of healing, among other things, which make the vision of this field of work very biased and full of mistakes.

In short, these myths about psychotherapy do not simply make people less aware of the work of psychologists, but also, because of them, create prejudices and false expectations that are detrimental to the fit between these services and the people who need them.

The main myths about psychotherapy

So, reviewing one by one these different myths about psychotherapists and their work is beneficial in order to be clear about the usefulness and potential of this important resource. Let us see what these mistaken beliefs are .

1. Therapy is only for people with disorders

People with diagnosed mental disorders or serious illnesses may have many reasons to go to a psychotherapist, but it is also perfectly normal for people without any of these problems to decide to have the services of one of these professionals.

For example, someone who wants to improve their cognitive performance may decide to use working memory training, or learn ways to manage everyday problems.

2. The psychotherapist “cures”

In psychology, it is not possible to reverse situations, to bring the person back to a stage prior to when a crisis or the first manifestations of a disorder appeared. The brain is a set of organs that is always changing, never going through the same state, and the same goes for mental states. When diagnosed disorders appear, their symptoms can be muffled , but not made to disappear completely.

3. The patient maintains a passive role

Nothing could be further from the truth. Psychotherapists contribute their experience and tools, but patients don’t just walk in the door and let themselves be done. They must do their part to make progress.

4. Paying to be heard

The effectiveness of psychotherapy is not simply based on letting patients talk and vent, much less on letting them. This myth may be based on a simplistic image of traditional psychoanalytic sessions, but neither is today’s psychotherapy based on Sigmund Freud’s theories nor is the service offered based on giving someone a chance to listen.

In fact, psychotherapists will only collect relevant information to guide the process of diagnosis, prognosis and intervention, which means that in addition to collecting data on patients, they use scientifically tested tools for which they have been trained and which, applied to patients, help to improve their quality of life. For example, you can see this by reviewing some cognitive-behavioral techniques.

5. Psychotherapy consists of giving advice

This is another of the most widespread myths about psychotherapy, but it is completely false. In psychology there are not only “golden rules” to guide our lives , but there are tools to apply in concrete cases to improve the quality of life of people. Patients should not expect the therapist to tell them how to organise their life. On the more specific issues.

6. In psychotherapy anything goes as long as you believe in it

This is completely untrue. Not all therapeutic proposals are valid, only those that have a scientifically proven efficacy for a given type of problem or objective. Believing that a method can work is not enough to make it effectively useful.

7. Therapists impose their point of view

In scientifically proven treatments, therapists do not try to impose their own schemes , but gather information and, based on what they know at the time, see which intervention is more effective in each case.

8. The sessions teach optimism

Therapy services are not just limited to spreading optimism . In fact, on many occasions this is not even necessary, since people show a predisposition to interpret things in an optimistic way.

9. Reading self-help is like going to therapy

The reading of self-help books has not been shown to have therapeutic efficacy , among other things because it does not allow for interaction between patient and expert and, on the other hand, cannot offer personalized treatment. Its usefulness is, rather, to offer content from which to reflect.

10. Improvement comes suddenly

The progress made through the therapy sessions usually comes gradually , not from one day to the next. In addition, this usually indicates that its effects will be persistent.