Why you should go to the therapist

In Europe at least, going to the therapist is still a taboo. But it shouldn't be. These are arguments I usually hear.

"I'm not crazy." Well, that's not the point. Going to the therapist should be seen as a very normal act. If you're sick, you go to the doctor. If you're injured, you go to the physiotherapist. If you're not in a good mood for a long period, you go to the therapist.

"I don't need it." Everyone needs it. First, because we usually don't know what we don't know, so we don't know if we need it. Second, because it's during periods when we don't feel we need therapy that it's easiest to engage in prevention and avoid potential future crises.

"I have my friends / my partner for that." Your close ones have a conflict of interest when it comes to giving you real advice. Your loved ones may not have the skills to ensure you're asking yourself the right questions. Your loved ones might have other things to do besides listening to your problems.

"This costs money that I don't have / I don't want society to pay for that." In Europe, therapists are almost 100% covered by social insurances. Now, if you think this will cost a lot of money to society if everyone goes to the therapist, imagine how much money it will cost if people don't go to the therapist: burn-outs, depression, anxiety, addictions, relationship difficulties, eating disorders. You're probably concerned by at least one of these things.

How does a therapist usually work?

A therapist isn't there to give you answers, They're here to help you ask yourself the right questions.

In software development, there's a famous debugging technique called "rubber duck method". This technique is used when you're stuck on a problem like not finding where a bug comes from, or creating a feature and don't know how to proceed.

It involves explaining your problem to a rubber duck or any random object. The act of explaining your problem helps you ask the right questions as you need to articulate it clearly. Generally, in a development team, developers use the rubber duck method with colleagues. You ask for help with a problem. You explain the problem. You find the solution on your own. Often, without your colleague even fully understanding the problem. They were just there to be the rubber duck.

A psychologist works similarly, but with your mental health. They will encourage you to express what you feel and put your problems into words. Once you've verbalized them, you understand your problems better and can solve them. For me personally, a psychologist helped me understand my emotions, identify the underlying needs, and work toward happiness. But we'll discuss that in another article.