Talk therapy - How can it help:

So, what is insight oriented psychodynamic talk therapy?  Simply put, it gives you the chance to talk to a trained professional who is able to help explore not only the effects of what may be happening in your life (such as depression or anxiety or anger), but also understand the underlying causes.  Depending on the situation, these insight may enable you to make changes to your perceptions, behavior, or beliefs in a way that helps make life feel more manageable, less stressful, or less upsetting. 

Why see a therapist when you have friends or family who will know you, care about you, and listen for free?  There are several advantages to being able to work with a therapist, who is able to provide unbiased professional and helpful feedback.  Sometimes our loved ones, no matter how much they care or want to help, have their own preconceived notions of who they think we are, or what outcome they would like to see.  Sometimes that is exactly what we need.  Other times, having a fresh perspective from someone, like a therapist, who may be able to provide an “out of the box” solution can be invaluable.  

Additionally, counselors offer years of training and experience, which allows them to bring further wisdom and insight to help meet their clients' needs.  

Finally, you may not know your friends and family to know your deepest thoughts or emotions, or you may want to talk about material without worrying about hurting or upsetting those you are closest to.  As professionals, therapists know how work with you while you share and process difficult material, and you are able to walk away from a session knowing that your session was private and confidential.  The information will not be shared with your family or friends (unless, of course, you choose to do so yourself), and you can trust your therapist to handle the information you shared with care and professionalism. 

If you think talk therapy may be helpful to you, I urge you to give it a try.  I offer insight-oriented talk therapy in my office in Norwalk CT, as well as remotely through teletherapy video and audio conferencing.   

Where Talk therapy meets other modalities:

You've told your story to therapists in the past, is talk therapy really supposed to "work"?  Talk therapy can be very effective in helping you gain insight, speak the unspeakable, or feel heard and validated.  However, there are times that telling your story over and over again provides little value.  If you have already seen a therapist, talked about yourself, and are not feeling better, chances are that the emotional information has not yet been processed.  When you reach this point, alternative therapies such as EMDR, IFS, and Sand Tray are much more effective in helping process and integrate "stuck" emotions, memories, or experiences.

A personal note about using talk therapy in sessions:

Talk therapy can be particularly helpful in gaining insight into your emotional, behavioral, and thought patterns.  If you suffer from anxiety, panic attacks, depression, PTSD symptoms, or have trouble in relationships, talk therapy may be a powerful way of gaining insight and affect deep and meaningful change in your life.  I believe talk therapy can really help integrate feelings and experiences, and is the basis of most therapy.  I work eclectically, where you are able to work with various therapeutic modalities (including EMDR, IFS, and Sand Tray) by moving back and forth between modalities as appropriate. 

Learn more!  The following links have some interesting commentary and information about talk therapy:

• 11 Intriguing Reasons to Give Talk Therapy a Try (Forbes Magazine)
• Talk Therapy: Off the Couch and into the Lab (Scientific American)