Psychotherapy for Coping with Daily Life

Mental health conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder can affect the individual’s ability to function daily. Through psychotherapy services, patients can learn coping mechanisms that help them properly face (or potentially avoid) triggers.

Psychotherapy: does it help with daily life?

Psychotherapy is one of the most well-known and common forms of psychiatry treatment for mental health disorders. This is because psychotherapy is highly effective for many patients. The following review takes a closer look at psychotherapy, highlighting its definition, how it helps with daily life, and what to expect during a psychotherapy treatment session.

What is psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy, also called talk therapy, is a form of psychiatry treatment that involves a one-on-one session with a licensed mental health professional. Each session is confidential and allows the patient the freedom to discuss their daily life. Most sessions involve a series of questions asked by the psychiatrist to help the patient think through life situations and find coping mechanisms to help them function and feel better daily.

How does psychotherapy help with coping daily?

As mentioned, one of the primary goals of psychotherapy is learning how to cope with triggers. A trigger could be anything that leads to symptoms of a mental health concern. Rather than simply trying to avoid triggers, psychotherapy helps patients understand and implement healthy ways to cope with these triggers when they face them each day. For many, this allows the patient to function better daily and have higher self-esteem and overall confidence.

What happens during a psychotherapy session?

A psychotherapy session involves a one-on-one discussion with the psychiatrist, which is entirely confidential. What takes place during the visit largely depends on the type of psychotherapy. For cognitive behavioral therapy, in particular, the patient is asked a series of open-ended questions that help them open up and talk through their condition.

What conditions can psychotherapy help treat?

Psychotherapy can help treat a range of mental health disorders. It can treat conditions including, but far from limited to, major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Psychotherapy can also help when dealing with the loss of a loved one, known as bereavement counseling (or grief counseling).

How long does psychotherapy last?

There is no timeframe for the results of psychotherapy. Some patients continue with sessions for decades, whereas others may see results in as little as a few months and decide to phase themselves out of psychotherapy sessions. The plan for every patient is entirely personalized. Each psychotherapy session has a time limit that typically lasts thirty minutes or an hour.