The Benefits of Counseling

It can be hard to admit that you need help, but often it is the most important thing you can do. Individual counseling is useful for an incredible amount of people for any number of reason, for depression, for schizophrenia, for bipolar disorder, and even just for people who are having a difficult time. There is no shame in admitting that you need help, and traumatic situations often require a certain amount of processing that is best done with the aid of a psychotherapist.

Many Americans suffer from depression. In fact, up to half of them never seek treatment for depression and 16 million had at least one major depressive episode in 2012. Sufferers of depression are far from alone, though the isolating nature of the condition can make them seem anything but. Depression can take a huge toll on the lives of its sufferers, accounting for $80 million in lost productivity and health care. Though depression happens to both men and women, studies have shown that women are 70% more likely to be diagnosed with some type of depressive disorder than men. Though it is less common in children, depression affects the lives of adolescents as well. By the time they reach the age of 18, over 10% of adolescents are dealing with some type of depression. This amounts to 350 million people dealing with depression every year. But depression can benefit from counseling services. Individual counseling for depression patients typically lasts between ten and twenty weeks, though many patients continue to see a counselor to maintain their mental health for years. Many depression patients find medication to be helpful. Because it takes medication up to six weeks to be fully active, a psychotherapist will supervise this time closely alongside with individual counseling sessions.

Marital problems are also not an isolated or uncommon thing. Seeking individual counseling as well as marriage counseling can be hugely beneficial to a relationship. Many couples seek marriage counseling after one or both parties has had an affair, which typically lasts two years. It has shown that half of couples who partake in couples therapy recover their relationship after the course of the therapy, while 70% of couples stabilize their relationships within three months of completing therapy. Licenses marriage and family therapists provide another option to a traditional psychotherapist. Though they perform many of the same services, marriage and family therapist often cost up to 40% less than a psychotherapist of psychologist. Couples therapy has been shown to give over 90% of patients better tools and coping strategies to deal with their problems both as a couple and as individuals and many patients also said that their physical health actually improved as well.

Whether you pursue individual counseling or couples therapy, it’s important to take care of your mental health. The health of your mind is just as crucial as the health of your body, and their is no shame in seeking help for relationship difficulties or a psychiatric condition. They’re far from common and many are treatable.