Does Therapy Actually Work? ✨

LMFT. It's Natalie Moore here. The question I want to answer is, does therapy actually work? For anyone who is considering entering into psychotherapy, this is probably something you want to know if you have any doubt in your mind about this whole process. You know that it's a big time, financial, and energy investment to make, and so you would want to know if something actually works before you commit to it, right? So there are a few different factors: client factors, therapist factors, and then the relationship between the client and therapist factors. So client factors— so does therapy actually work? The answer is it depends, which I know is the safe answer for any question, but it really does depend. It depends on so many different factors. So let's just jump right in. Certain client factors to keep in mind would be, does this person actually want treatment and want therapy? I often get calls from parents for their adult children saying, "Hey, my son or my daughter is really struggling. They have anxiety, depression, whatever it is," and they're reaching out for psychotherapy for someone else. And so the first thing that I ask them is, is this something that they actually want? I've also worked in settings, I've worked actually in an inpatient substance abuse Recovery Center, and unfortunately most of the clients there did not want to be there. They did not want to be sober. They did not want to be in treatment. They did not want to be in an inpatient treatment program. They, for whatever reason, felt obligated by their parents or their families to be there and like it was a last resort for them. So unfortunately, I didn't feel like I had a lot of leverage in helping these people because they didn't want help. So does this client actually want treatment? Next would be, is this person actually ready to change? So in psychotherapy, we don't just wave a magic wand and make people better. Psychotherapy, there is magic to it, there is a certain element of magic, I believe, that we have as healers, but people have to be ready to engage in a healing process, and that can be painful sometimes. And in order for therapy to have the effect that people are looking for, they're going to have to make some tangible, serious changes in their life, whether it's you know, managing addiction and changing their behavior there, or changing certain relationship patterns, or just stopping doing things that they've relied on doing and starting doing things that for whatever reason they haven't done yet or have been too uncomfortable to consider. So is this person actually ready to heal, and is this person actually ready to make tangible changes in their life? Thirdly, are they willing to make these changes? And feel uncomfortable. So the other one has more to do with timing. Are they ready for it at this time in their life? And the second part of it is like, what's the willingness level? As therapists, we really don't want to feel like we're pulling teeth. We want to feel like we are engaging in a dynamic process with someone who really wants this type of help and this type of support, so it feels really directed by the client and we can follow the client's lead and help guide them. Lastly, for the client factors, is this person able to commit time, energy, and money into their treatment? So It is a time commitment. It's about an hour a week, at least in the beginning. Some people need more support, some people don't need as much. Energy, it's an energy. There's a certain amount of energy involved in committing wholeheartedly to something and to a relationship, a therapeutic relationship, and to that change. And also it's a financial investment as well. You're spending a decent amount of money. Most therapists charge anywhere between $100 and $200 a session. So there's really, there's a financial component as well. So is this person really bought in and do they really feel that this is something that's going to help them, help them heal and transform? Next are the therapist factors. So does this therapist have the education and training to help this client? So did they have a really good master's program or doctoral program that they went to that really armed them with the tools and the knowledge and the wisdom to help clients? Do they have ongoing training that they commit to to ensure that they're always growing and developing as a clinician? Really, our training doesn't just happen in grad school or in the internship process afterwards. It's an ongoing practice, right? We're always— good ethical therapists are always seeking opportunities to continue to learn and grow so that they can help their clients. There's also a maturity and a self-reflection growth component to the therapist. It's not just all about what you know, what training you have, what certification, license. Those things can be important, but it's also how much of their own work is the therapist doing. Are they committing to their own self-care practices? Are they in their own therapy or life coaching or spiritual guidance or whatever it is that they need? Are they continuing to work through their own personal blocks so that they can break through their own glass ceilings and and help clients in that way too. There's this maxim that we can only take people as far as we've taken ourselves, and if we don't take ourselves there, how can we have the wisdom or the understanding or even the guts to help people break through those limits themselves? Other therapist factors might be: does the therapist charge enough for their sessions so that they feel financially stable and so that they're not bringing any resentment into their work with their clients? Are they, you know, eating well, sleeping well? Are they present in the session? Do they really love what they do? So I've heard that some people get into this field because maybe they think it's going to be easy, like you just sit on the couch and talk to people, but really it's a really challenging profession. It's a really hard job. It's the hardest job I can really imagine doing, and so does this person really love what they're doing? Are they really Are they really committed and do they really care about their clients? So I'm sure there are more therapist factors, but those are the only ones that are coming to mind for me right now. And then there are the relationship between the therapist and the client factors. So we know from research that the best indicator of therapeutic outcomes are the relationship between the client and the therapist and how strong that relationship is. So is it a good personality fit? Between the therapist and the client. Is it a good treatment modality fit? So there are so many different theoretical orientations and treatment modalities that therapists can do. This is basically what is the therapist doing in the session and what's guiding their interventions. And for some people, you know, maybe they, they thought that cognitive behavioral therapy was going to be a good fit, or they thought somatic psychotherapy was going to be a good fit, but they, they get into that therapeutic environment and they realize, oh, I don't think this like, "This isn't working for me. I don't gel with this," or, "This really doesn't fit at all." And so you definitely want to keep that in consideration as well. Also, is it a good fit in terms of demographically? Do you feel like this therapist can relate to you in some way? They don't need to relate to you in every single way, but do you feel like they can at least put themselves in your shoes and get what you're going through? And then lastly, I put belief systems. Like, it would be kind of tricky to work with a therapist where you felt like their belief system was just so antithetical to yours that you might feel like they were trying to convince you to believe more of what they believe, or you feel like you're always trying to convince them to understand what your beliefs are. You want there to be some kind of overlap there so that you feel like you're at least speaking the same language. Again, you don't have to have all the same beliefs. I'm sure there are therapists and I've had clients who work very well together who have different beliefs. This is not like a black and white thing, but in my view, I would want to work with a therapist who, if I told them some of my out-there beliefs, I wouldn't want them to think I was completely crazy. I would want them to relate in a certain way and to be able to understand what I'm going through. So considering all these factors, let's go over them again. Does therapy work? Let's really answer this question. Does therapy actually work? If the person is ready for treatment, ready to change, ready to make— willing to make changes and feel uncomfortable, able to commit the time, energy, and money to therapy, right? If the therapist has the right education, the right training, the right maturity, self-growth level, ability to care for themselves, care about their clients, if it's a good fit between the personality, the modality, the demographics, and the belief system, then yes, it works. I hope that answers your guys' question. And again, I say this sometimes in my videos, that if you guys ever have a question about psychotherapy, if you live in the Los Angeles area, if you feel like I might be able to help you or at least answer some of your questions, I do offer a free 15-minute phone consultation to anyone who wants it. I'll leave my phone number right here so you can grab it. And also, I'd love if you left a comment or subscribe to my channel so that I can get my message out to more people who have similar questions. So take good care and see you next time. Bye!