Much is said about Psychotherapy but little is known about its real meaning.
Let's start with the word itself, Psychotherapy ie Psycho (it is the psychological, the psyche, the mind), Therapy (means treatment). So we have psychological treatment, the treatment of problems of the mind, of what we think, of our emotions! The most common is for people to look for a Psychologist or Psychiatrist, who are the only professionals technically qualified to practice Psychotherapy when they have psychiatric problems.
And, what are the psychiatric problems that lead people to the psychology office for psychotherapy? These are problems such as depression, panic disorder, chemical dependency, among many others. Interpersonal or family relationship problems are also treated by psychotherapy and are very common in the office.
The treatment is carried out through a conversation that is repeated weekly. In this conversation, the Psychotherapist tries, through techniques that he determines in advance, one for each case, to develop tools, in which the person will resignify his own history and, thus, transforming his way of thinking about facts or sensations that occurred in his life. In this way, the person will understand what led to such suffering, or inappropriate behavior.
The issues that lead people to psychiatric disorders are not always just environmental or behavioral issues, but may have an organic origin, that is, they may have their origins in brain chemistry. In these cases, drug treatments are necessary in parallel with psychological treatments. But even that is important for people to be aware of in order to accept and adhere to treatment. Acceptance is the main tool we have towards the emotional stabilization of the individual who suffers from such types of disorder.
Psychotherapy is a process, in which we cannot set a deadline for its end. The human mind is very complex and each person reacts in a way, each at their own time.
But, whoever thinks that only people who suffer go to psychotherapists are wrong. Many people seek this type of treatment for their self-knowledge. And, this type of search is fundamental for the proper functioning of the psyche, the mind, the emotional. In this case, we are doing what is ideal, that is, a preventive treatment and not a curative one, as in most cases.
I like to define psychotherapy like this:
Psychotherapy: the art of realizing the obvious
