For many people going to a psychologist is synonymous with being a weak person , but in reality, going to psychological therapy can make you a stronger person emotionally, and can give you tools to be able to better adapt to difficult situations that may arise in your life.

When to see a psychologist?

Therefore, going to therapy is an act of intelligence and courage , since on many occasions the person who needs help is not aware that they have the problem or avoids facing reality. Many people still do not know at what moment they should think about going to a psychologist, above all because of false beliefs about what psychotherapy is and who it is aimed at. In this sense, we recommend that you read this article:

The 8 reasons why you should see a psychologist

A psychotherapist is a mental health professional who specializes in the areas of cognitive (thinking), affective (emotions) and behavioral (behavior), and who can help you to empower yourself in everyday circumstances and improve your quality of life .

Therefore, we present below the benefits of psychological therapy .

1. helps you feel better

By facing up to the problems that cause you pain or discomfort together with a psychotherapist, and being able to talk confidently and freely about yourself to someone who does not judge you about your feelings and your repressed experiences, you are letting your hidden thoughts and feelings be expressed, which is beneficial for your well-being .

When you express how you feel and release your emotional charge, you feel relieved. This is known as catharsis, a Greek word that refers to purification and is used in psychology to explain the process of releasing negative emotions.

2. teaches you tools for managing conflict

conflicts are something normal in people’s lives and, on many occasions, they are necessary for personal growth or living with other individuals. Psychotherapy sessions teach you new ways ( more adaptive ) of solving problems.

Furthermore, it can help you to perceive conflicts differently, so that they affect you less and you are able to relativise the importance of tense situations. In this way, your way of adapting to new circumstances in your daily life will be much better and, in general, you will have fewer difficulties in your personal relationships or even in the professional field.

Helps you change limiting beliefs

With our beliefs and values we give meaning and coherence to our model of the world. The same situation can be lived differently by each person. Beliefs help us to simplify the world around us, and are interpretations of reality and not facts.

Some beliefs are maladaptive or limiting and need to be corrected, as these are not innate, we acquire them throughout our lives. Therefore, the psychologist can help you identify, analyse, test and modify them .

4. Helps you live in harmony with yourself and others

The introspection that takes place when attending therapy allows you to get to know yourself better and overcome, for example, an existential crisis. In addition, psychotherapy is effective for work problems (burnout, stress, etc.) or relationship problems.

Therefore, psychological therapy can help you to solve these kinds of problems, and is beneficial for finding yourself and relating to others more effectively . This will positively affect your mental health, and will allow you to find inner peace and well-being.

5. Confidentiality of the sessions

The relationship with the psychologist is confidential and strictly professional . As expressed in the code of ethics and deontology of the Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos , the psychology professional must guarantee the secrecy and confidentiality of everything referred to him by the person who consults him.

Therefore, everything you say in a therapy session will be a secret between you and your therapist. This allows for a relational framework in which very intimate fears can be addressed.

6. Relationship of trust and empathy

In addition to the knowledge and professionalism that the psychologist must show, the environment of trust that is created between the two will allow you to express the problems and feelings that you consider most delicate (and that you would probably not tell anyone else).

The psychologist is not going to judge you and, moreover, has the necessary training to create a good environment of trust and empathy for you to express yourself without fear.

7. Career advice

The psychotherapist is an expert in psychological therapy, and has extensive knowledge of human behaviour , as he has studied psychology at a regulated university. To work as a psychotherapist, it is very possible that he/she has studied a university postgraduate course on some speciality (for example, sexology, couple’s therapy or clinical psychology), and has probably acquired the necessary experience to be able to contribute all his/her knowledge to your benefit.

Psychological therapy is not about telling problems to a friend or relative, because there is a solid foundation (both theoretical and practical) backed by science .

8. Empowers you in the face of life

One of the objectives of psychotherapy is that the relationship between the therapist and the patient is not one of dependency . Therefore, the psychologist helps you to be in charge of yourself and to acquire new skills that will be useful in your daily life.

Attending psychological therapy is not waiting for the psychologist to solve your problems, it is learning to accept and love what one is and to put the necessary will to change what causes us discomfort or prevents us from growing .

Bonus: Psychological therapy changes your brain

Neurological studies are finding more and more empirical evidence of the ability of psychotherapy to modify the brain structures and improve them, achieving a better vital attitude to cope with everyday life.

You can check it out by reading this article by psychologist Eduardo Valenciano:

“Psychotherapy produces changes in the brain”