Therapy

What is therapy?

The word "therapy" is most often used to mean psychotherapy - the psychological treatment of emotional and behavioral problems. Psychotherapy looks like talking - but it is really treatment. It's a process that is a lot like learning. Through therapy, people learn about themselves. They discover ways to overcome troubling feelings or behaviors, develop inner strengths or skills, or make changes in themselves or their situations.

A psychotherapist, or therapist, is a person who has been trained to help people work through their emotional problems. Psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, and social workers are the titles of some of the licensed professionals who work as therapists.

Most therapy is a combination of building trust, talking and listening, and receiving support and guidance. Through talking, listening and observing, a therapist can evaluate the problem that needs attention. It is the therapist's job to help a person figure out what's been making him or her so unhappy, and how to change that.