Popular misconceptions reinforce the belief that therapy is about resting on a couch and talking about one’s problems, according to Jonathan Alpert, a New York psychotherapist and author of Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days.
“So that’s what patients often do,” Alpert said, adding that this just as often this leads to codependence.
Alpert goes on to state that the therapist, of course, depends on the patient for money and the patient depends on the therapist for emotional support. And, for many therapy patients, it is satisfying just to have someone listen, and they leave sessions feeling better.
“But there’s a difference between feeling good and changing your life,” Alpert indicated. “More than an oasis of kindness or a cozy hour of validation and acceptance, most patients need smart strategies to help them achieve realistic goals.”
Alpert is not against therapy. After all, he practices it. But he says that there may be a limit to the number of sessions between the patient and therapist. And it might be sooner than you think.
Read more about it here [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/in-therapy-forever-enough-already.html]
Reference
Alpert, Jonathan. “Is Therapy Forever? Enough Already.” Sunday Review | Opinion (April 21, 2012). The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/in-therapy-forever-enough-already.html
