4 Misconceptions About Therapists: From a Salt Lake City, Utah Therapist
You and I can be real with each other, right? Sometimes being a therapist is a hard job, but probably not for the reasons you’d expect. Many women in Salt Lake City, Utah, and honestly everywhere, have ideas about therapists that aren’t quite accurate. People often assume the hardest part is hearing painful stories all day. That’s actually not hard for me. It’s an honor to be trusted with someone’s experiences. What can be challenging, though, are the misconceptions therapists often get lumped into. Therapy works partly because you don’t know everything about your therapist, but that mystery can sometimes leave room for misunderstandings.
These kinds of worries often sit underneath anxiety, which is something I work with every day in my anxiety therapy in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Common Misconceptions About Therapy (From a Utah Therapist)
Many women hesitate to start therapy not because they don’t want help, but because they’re unsure what therapy is really like. There are a lot of assumptions about therapists, counseling, and what happens in sessions. Let’s clear up a few of the most common myths that may be creating unnecessary fear or hesitation about getting support.
Myth #1: “Therapists Think Something Is Wrong With You”
Woof. Worst one ever. That’s actually the opposite of being true. Part of the reason I don’t take insurance is that they require you to have a diagnosis aka something wrong with you. I don’t think it’s fair to my clients. There’s a reason diagnoses are created and used but sometimes they aren’t helpful. I do talk with my clients especially the ones with eating disorders who are struggling to see the significance of their behavior about a diagnosis but I never want my clients to feel like there’s something wrong with them or that there is no hope of getting better. It’s not accurate at all and it’s not helpful. It’s also not my approach at all. Therapy is not only for mental illness. It’s for everyone.
Myth #2: “Therapists Blame Your Childhood or Your Parents”
This one is a real struggle for me because there is a lot of truth that our histories impact our present beliefs about ourselves and the world. There’s just no way around that being the truth. It’s a principle we experience all around in the world we live in. Cause and effect is a real principle. However, the goal of a therapist is not to blame the people you love and care about especially when the people in your life were doing their best in how they raised you. In therapy, we do make connections of when things started or what they are rooted in but the goal is not to blame or confront anyone for that but to find a way to heal from it while cultivating the type of relationship you want with family and friends.
Myth #3: “Therapy Will Make Me Question My Faith”
I mean I can’t speak for all therapists on any of these honestly but for me no way dude. There’s not a chance I will ever tell you what to do with your spiritual or religious beliefs. It’s my job to help you identify your values and how to get your actions to line up with them so you can have a happier fulfilled life. There is absolutely no room anywhere in my heart to take away what is important to someone or to persuade them to abandon what’s important to them. I’m just not here for that. My personal values and beliefs have nothing to do with yours. I own mine and would never let them influence yours.
Myth #4: “Therapists Will Put Ideas in My Head”
If you think this is me, then you are giving me way more credit than I deserve. You wanna know what my clients talk about in sessions: emotions, coping skills, how to be nice to themselves, ways to work through trauma, and if we are feeling really crazy, talk about restaurants we like to eat at. Again, I can’t speak for all therapists, but I think there is some room to challenge the fact that therapists have wild agendas and want to persuade you to do things that have no impact on our lives. I am here for you, and that’s it. I want you to be happy, healthy, and safe, and want to provide you with research tools that have already been proven to help you get there.
Finding a therapist that meets your needs is important. Not every therapist is going to be the right fit but when you do find the right therapist for you, it can make a big difference. It’s important to be able to challenge these myths and misconceptions you might have about therapists in order to get the help that you deserve. Therapists aren’t here to persuade you of anything, blame your family, make you think you’re flawed, or be critical of your beliefs.
Looking for an anxiety therapist in Salt Lake City?
If anxiety, overthinking, or constant stress have been taking a toll on your life, therapy can help. You don’t have to keep managing everything on your own. I provide anxiety therapy for women in Salt Lake City and throughout Utah through secure online counseling. To begin counseling, follow the steps below:
Meet with a therapist for anxiety
Begin feeling better
Online Therapy in Utah
I know it’s hard to navigate your busy schedule, and maybe you don’t feel like you deserve to do something for yourself, like therapy. You deserve help and focus on your needs, and I want to make it convenient for you by offering online therapy in Utah. Online therapy is convenient, secure, and just as effective as in-person therapy.
Online counseling allows me to work with you if you are in Logan, Salt Lake City, St. George, Cedar City, Heber, and more.
Other mental health services at Maple Canyon Therapy
Anxiety therapy isn’t the only counseling service provided at Maple Canyon Therapy. Other mental services that Maple Canyon Therapy provides are eating disorder therapy, body image therapy, binge eating disorder treatment, trauma therapy, and birth trauma therapy in Utah.
About the Author
Ashlee Hunt is a licensed clinical social worker and owner of Maple Canyon Therapy in Northern Utah. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a bachelor’s degree in family life and human development from Southern Utah University. Ashlee has a master’s degree in social work from Utah State University. She has been practicing therapy for nearly a decade and enjoys working with women with anxiety to help them finally have peace. She helps women with high-functioning anxiety, dating anxiety, performance anxiety, and social anxiety. When Ashlee isn’t doing therapy, she enjoys spending time with her Goldendoodles, who enjoy walks.