Individual therapy is a joint process between a therapist and a person in therapy. Common goals of therapy can be to inspire change or improve quality of life. People may seek therapy for help with issues that are hard to face alone. Individual therapy is also called psychotherapy, psychosocial therapy, talk therapy, or counseling.
It could be time to seek therapy if your symptoms are causing you distress or interferes with your day-to-day life. Distress can mean negative thoughts, feelings, behaviors, or even a bodily sensation such as pain or fatigue. It is important not to wait until symptoms become severe before going to therapy. Therapy can also help if you cannot focus on school or work, experience addiction, or experiencing thoughts or feelings of self-harm or thoughts or feelings of harming others.
Therapy can help treat mental, emotional, physical, and behavioral issues. Concerns that may be discussed in therapy include, but are not limited to:
Psychotherapy helps people understand that they can do something to improve their situation. That leads to changes that enhance healthy behavior, whether it’s improving relationships, expressing emotions better, doing better at work or school, or thinking more positively. Successful psychotherapy relies on three main aspects: