Why People Fear Psychotherapy

Although the world has advanced to such a mark that nothing seems impossible. The world has broadened its perspective in many regards. Talk about fashion culture or religion. The world has grown and proven to be more mature and tolerant than it used to be. However, having said that, the world still holds some of the old school thoughts in their mind regarding many of the hard realities of life. One of such thing is psycho therapies. They are treated to be somewhat similar as taboos.

Digging into the question as to “why” is, licensed therapists in Toronto being treated like an outcast or the people going to therapists are treated as outcast in the society, we found 4 main reasons.

  1. Therapy stigma

You will never see people hesitating to tell their co-workers about their toe fungus laser treatment at 2pm, but they still sneak away for their therapy session and treat it as covert operation! Despite the full awareness people display a quiet downturned gaze followed by a calculated slink toward those who seek the help of therapist in Toronto. They are ashamed, even sitting in the same clinic for same sort of treatment. Seeking help from a psychological professional still elicits shame. And that’s from people who actually come to get advantage from such therapy. What about all the people who won’t even consider it?

  1. Bad apples

There are in every profession unethical, under-trained, burned-out professionals in practice all around the world. And so is the case with the therapists. The flaws of the bad apples have casted an air of suspicion across the entire profession. Some will point to bad graduate school requirements, bad supervision, or the isolating nature of the profession to partially explain and save themselves from the label of “bad aples”. Irrespective, this is one reason why potential therapy candidates avoid therapy with perfectly ethical, competent therapists.

psychotherapy

  1. Psychology in the media

TV and movies present an inaccurate image of therapy and therapists, and unfortunately this is how most people are introduced to therapy. The psychotherapist darling drama “In Treatment” depicts a whole career of ethical dilemmas in a single season. The confidential nature of their profession adds an element of mystery the media is more than willing to exploit. Media is letting screenwriters and celebrity therapists inform the public about the minutiae and benefits of therapy, and all too often therapy is the punch line.

  1. Insufficient data

The general public isn’t aware of therapy’s proven, lasting effectiveness. For many issues, therapy is as effective as medicines and the benefits last longer. In fact, it is one of the most effective ways in most of the cases which has no side effects whatsoever. For some reason, it is not being done in an adequate manner i.e., the job of communicating this to the masses.

  1. Elitist distortion

In a devil’s advocate role a person asked: “Why would anyone support therapists? Isn’t therapy just a luxury for the upper-middle class? Should we have a ‘corporate lawyer day’ too?” Yes, those words burned, but they helped reveal a misrepresentation in the general consciousness. Private practice therapists in Toronto do tend to emphasis on the middle-to-upper class, but therapy is for everyone.