by Michael Hickey, Ph.D.
Have you ever heard the statement, “I don’t believe in therapy”? As I was preparing some material for an upcoming Awareness Week in an effort to help raise awareness and demystify mental illness, I thought about the times that I have heard this comment both in my personal and professional life. This may come as a surprise (but hopefully not) – psychotherapy is not a mythical entity like Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. Contrarily, evidence-based psychotherapies such as Rational-Emotive & Cognitive Behavior Therapy (RE&CBT) are scientifically proven to help people with a wide range of emotional and behavioral problems. When people say they don’t believe in therapy, they might as well be saying they don’t believe in the law of gravity. This type of ignorance perpetuates archaic beliefs about the utility of psychotherapy and can often result in people not seeking the help they can benefit from due to unfounded stereotypes. As a practitioner and researcher of RE&CBT for over ten years, I have a difficult time hearing this statement, as I have seen an immeasurable amount of our clients improve significantly throughout the years in our practice at the Albert Ellis Institute (this being only a small sample given the 60+ years of history and thousands of practitioners of RE&CBT internationally). So the next time you hear someone state that he or she does not believe in therapy, please join us in helping to raise awareness. As we know in the practice of RE&CBT, we cannot make someone change their beliefs, but we can engage in and encourage well-informed discussions to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and psychotherapy. For more information on the history and efficacy of RE&CBT, please visit our website at www.albertellis.org and encourage others to do the same!
