GRACE BOYLING
Fighting the stigma of going to therapy
1 in 4 people in the UK will suffer with mental health problems in a given year. However, one 1 in 8 people seek treatment. A serious medical condition that can be debilitating and stop you living your life - that only 50% of patients seek/receive treatment. Many factors affect this statistic but one of the most glaring issues is the stigma around mental health. Though, I cannot deny that this stigma is decreasing, it is not completely eradicated. This can be seen especially with receiving treatment. Therapy, I have personally found one of the most useful forms of help in conquering my personal issues. However, I have encountered many people who find it very difficult to bring themselves to access this treatment. Some, due to society’s views on what therapy is. Knowing this, I have decided to write down my personal experience with therapy and I hope to help people overcome the stigma.
My first experience, let’s do it. I recognised my problem needed addressing and I could not tackle alone. I decided to have a google. Talk Liverpool? *hmm, sounds alright* - I think to myself and pick up the phone. So...I’ve been signed up for group sessions for six weeks. Oh my, this is going to be the group therapy that I’ve seen in the films... all sitting in a circle... sharing our life stories. Even with these reservations, I decided I would go along. My first session; I turned up with many 20 people and we sat, lecture style, in front of a board, waiting. We were given forms to fill out - standard information and the problems we hope to face. This was completely confidentiality behind the safety of a clipboard, which I liked. No public airing of any dirty laundry I might have. After this, a nice lady proceeded to give a very informative lecture on what mental health is and how to handle different emotions in a structured way. We sat, listened, asked questions when we wanted to, or not, if we didn’t want to - there was no pressure.
Well, this isn’t the way I imagined therapy to be. Scientific data and strategies to manage different situations? Useful worksheets and booklets to fill out at home? Not sitting in a circle and asking “so, how do you feel today?” in a patronising voice. I thought to myself - maybe this stigma is ill-founded. I decided to ask friends about their experiences of therapy from all across the country. The general consensus? - no circles, no patronizing words, just genuine people providing useful information and help.
Well that’s that. My experience with group therapy - not as awful as everyone imagined, even myself. I walked out of every session accomplished of the progress I had made, not ashamed of my thoughts and feelings and not feeling like I’d told the whole world about it. I looked forward to the sessions as a way to help myself through difficult problems, which at some points, I never thought I could tackle. This stigma around therapy, I believe, is born out of ignorance and misinterpretation and should not stop anyone from getting the help they need.