Does therapy work?

Good question. You may be thinking of investing significant aspects of yourself and your money in therapy, and yet no one will tell you clearly if it will work or not. And you’re not alone in being concerned if therapy helps. US research shows that 76% of those considering therapy cite lack of confidence in if it will work as the main reason for not trying.

But back to the question, “does therapy work”. Google it and you will get lots of articles. However it is likely that few, if any, will be attempting to answer your question. It is almost as if it is impolite to ask. You have to take it on faith. And many of us therapist are little better, peppering our responses with ‘well it depends’, etc. And of course we are right, therapy is not predictable, it does depend... but more importantly you are right, we should seek more clarity.

And over the last few years systems have appeared that can help offer more clarity. We call them ‘measuring outcome’ systems. These help counsellors and clients measure and track progress on a weekly basis. This direct feedback has been shown to powerfully boast results.

Interestingly the 80% figure above is similar to the likely success of your doctor’s pharmacological or surgical solutions. So if your unsure, please take heart that the research suggests seeking therapy will help.