Research suggests the advantages of therapy continue even after sessions have stopped, with patients feeling better about themselves, reducing their psychiatric symptoms, and developing long-term coping skills and tools to manage life’s challenges (this study followed individuals for at least nine months or more after therapy had ended).
“A lot of people think you need evidence of long-term impaired functioning to need therapy — the reality is it needs to be for just two weeks that you’re not doing well at work, school or socially, or you’re not doing well with basic things like eating or sleeping,” Crawford says. Or people think what they’re struggling with isn’t severe enough to warrant therapy. But for many people, seeking out help for your emotional or mental health early, before a problem is significantly impairing their life, will prevent a lot of suffering, she says.
