How Does Talk Therapy Work? Ask Our Psychiatrist

You’ve probably heard this advice given to someone you know who’s struggling with emotional difficulties: Talk to someone about it. Perhaps you’ve received the same advice yourself in response to a wide variety of challenges and mental health issues including depression, anxiety, grief, loss, anger, addiction, and family issues. So you’ve tried talking with a family member or close friend, which helped, but your deeper issues keep returning.

Practiced by our psychiatrist, talk therapy, also known as psychotherapy, is highly effective in treating a range of stressful conditions that may be interfering with your ability to complete everyday tasks or enjoy life to its fullest. Our psychiatrist is a licensed and fully trained medical doctor who can prescribe medication that can work in combination with our treatment.

A person who’s considering talk therapy may wonder why and how it works, and why it’s more beneficial to discuss these personal matters with a complete stranger rather than with a family member or friend. 

A psychiatrist is a trained, unbiased, nonjudgmental listener who asks open-ended questions designed to allow patients to arrive at their own answers. The private, confidential relationship that develops between a psychiatrist and patient during our regular sessions creates a safe space for complete trust. Although this collaborative effort unfolds over time in order to deal with long-standing issues, we can address immediate concerns as well.

There are several types of psychotherapy depending on the patient’s needs and preferences. Some methods focus on identifying and changing specific harmful behaviors; some with regulating powerful emotions; and others that seek to understand the underlying, unresolved issues that lie at the heart of the problems. 

If you are experiencing mental health difficulties arising from conditions including depression, anxiety, grief, loss, anger, addiction, and family issues, you don’t have to face them alone. Please contact us to arrange a confidential consultation with our psychiatrist.