By Elsa Johnson

Therapy will be what saves the world... I’ll bet my stimulus check on it!

Everyone has their own baggage, and everyone has their own ways of handling it, but therapy is like a spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down. If we could communicate and understand our emotions, what a better world it will be!

I’ve been in therapy for a year now and it’s been the best self care decision that I’ve made in my adult life. A year ago, I felt like I was treading water and so overloaded I didn’t know how to communicate and process what was going on around me. Therapy has helped me better communicate and process situations and emotions. It’s a different experience for everyone- I don’t know if I’ve had any Earth shattering breakthroughs in therapy, and I do have slight neroces about what my therapist thinks of me, but knowing I have someone to talk to makes a difference.

You don’t only need to go to therapy when you’re depressed, anxious or going through something traumatic, therapy is also beneficial if you’re feeling slightly off or not yourself. The end goal of therapy is to give you tools and guidance to navigate your world, not to be in therapy forever.

I continue to go to therapy, remotely, through COVID quarantine, because during this time having someone to work with you through this moment is important.

Whether it's a group, couple or just you, the benefits of therapy have been noted as an effective tool to help you be the best person you can be for you and others around you. Going a step further than meditation and mindfulness, a valuable practice, therapy and in some cases more active therapy, develops new neural pathways. It’s shown to improve your fear and anxiety response and strengthen high order thinking and executive function. Therapy is an individualistic experience, but some of the major ways it can help you is by developing a strategy to work through stress, help find direction and solve problems.

Therapy Helps you Work Through Stressors

If you’ve ever obsessed about how you appear to people, or wondered if you overreacted, underreacted, or felt overwhelmed with your situation, therapy can provide feedback for what you’re feeling. Sometimes it isn’t just you, working through a situation can also help understand the people around you. It’s been shown that verbalizing your emotions has positive effects on your brain. Discussing your emotions with someone else can give insight into why you might feel this way, provide a road to navigate these emotions and help you see it from a different perspective. 

Therapy can Help you Find Direction

Therapy can help you open up and act as a support mechanism. There should be a level of trust in therapy and you might find yourself being vulnerable and verbalizing what you really want. For example, you might be isolating yourself for fear of rejection and hurting yourself because you actually do want those relationships. Discussing openly with your therapist can be reflective, helping realize a goal or a direction that you’ve been struggling with and discovering where you can go from there.

Therapy can Help you Dissect and Solve Problems

One of the best benefits of therapy is it gives you perspective. It’s a safe space where you can communicate your feelings without judgement. Your therapist is there to help you gain a different viewpoint on your situation that can then help you develop a new strategy or outlook to tackle the problem. This includes breaking negative habits or thought patterns that can be obstacles in your life. Therapy can enhance your life by working out these issues and creating more balance.

The ability for therapy to help you in the end can help save the world. Viva la thérapie!

Therapy Resources

Although therapy is not free, there are more affordable options available that might work for you. 

Finding the right therapist for you can be difficult, but there are resources out there to help. Call your insurer to find out what’s included in your insurance plan. Use ZocDoc to find therapists near you and contact them to see if they might be a good fit. Check out the NAMI HelpLine, you can reach them at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email them at info@nami.org. SAMHSA also has low cost options, support groups and mental health clinics.

Check if a therapist has a sliding scale and can reduce your cost according to your situation, or ask if they have pro bono spots. Every public health hospital in NY has a mental health clinic, so your local hospital might be worth checking out as these clinics can offer a sliding scale of $15-20 per session.

If you’re a student, your school should offer mental health resources. Another option is considering group therapy or support groups.

Therapy Apps

Therapy Apps have become more popular since Michael Phelps talks about them all over Subway ads, and while we limit our social interaction, apps might be a great way to start therapy.

Talkspace: You can sign up for plans ranging from texting, audio and video therapy, available for teens and couples from $65-$99 a week. What’s cool about this app is that you can text your therapist as observations or questions pop up in your mind and they’ll send you a response.

BetterHelp: Texting, chat, video and audio therapy at $40-$70 a week. You can cancel at any time and remain anonymous.

Larkr: If you are a commitment phobe, Larkr is $85 per session with no subscription.

ReGain: This app has couples therapy from $40-$70 per week. Couples share an account in which they can participate in live sessions, and also access a chatroom with each other and the therapist where they can send messages.

Optimism: Free! Optimism is a mood-tracking app for people with mental health concerns. The app tracks your emotional state, alcohol and caffeine intake, sleep patterns and exercise habits, allowing users to visualize how various factors may influence their mental health.

PTSD Coach: Free! Developed by the department of Veteran Affairs, it’s designed to supplement therapy for individuals coping with trauma and track their symptoms. The app offers advice and coping strategies.

Other Resources

Calm app is great to help to reduce anxiety. Headspace assists with meditation at $13 per month.

There are free guided meditations on Spotify to help relax.

If you ever questioned yourself if there are a  recovery centers near me, you don't have to worry, help will always be available.

Please remember the Crisis Text Line and Suicide Prevention Lifeline are available even if you’re not an immediate suicide risk. If you need to talk to someone and can’t wait for an appointment, call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to connect to the crisis center, if you’d prefer to text message text START to 741-741.