Why go for counselling or Psychotherapy? (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

Why go for counselling or Psychotherapy?

2:53pm Thursday 2nd April 2009

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I often find that it is those who say they don’t need therapy that are frequently most in need of support.

Unlike our cousins in the United States, in many cases, us Brits still seem to live by the old adage of “Stiff Upper Lip” and we have a real aversion to admitting that we can’t cope or that we might possibly need a helping hand. Unfortunately, in many cases, we still associate attending counselling, psychotherapy or just plain talking about our feelings with the notion that there must be something seriously wrong with us.

That is why I was particularly struck by a report that I read recently about a survey into family life that was conducted by researchers at Ulster University. According to lead researcher Professor Tony Cassidy:

"Sisters appear to encourage more open communication and cohesion in families.

"However, brothers seemed to have the alternative effect.

"Emotional expression is fundamental to good psychological health and having sisters promotes this in families."

This is a pattern which is uncannily mirrored in my own private practice: It is commonly the females who are forthcoming for therapy whereas the men only tend to pay me a visit when things reach absolute crisis point.

Attitudes to therapy are definitely changing for the better (especially amongst generation Y!), but the sooner our society can learn to break down these restrictive stereotypes about emotional disclosure and gender roles, the far happier we will inevitably be as a nation.

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