{"id":1893,"date":"2023-04-17T17:23:47","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T17:23:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/?p=1893"},"modified":"2024-09-02T23:28:11","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T23:28:11","slug":"what-psychotherapy-cant-do-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/what-psychotherapy-cant-do-for-you\/","title":{"rendered":"What Psychotherapy CAN\u2019T Do For You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-image alignwide uagb-block-4b5c9a06 wp-block-uagb-image--layout-default wp-block-uagb-image--effect-static wp-block-uagb-image--align-wide\"><figure class=\"wp-block-uagb-image__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/AdobeStock_281433032-1024x683.jpeg \" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 150px\" src=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/AdobeStock_281433032-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"uag-image-1901\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" title=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:39px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Psychotherapy&nbsp;<strong>CAN\u2019T<\/strong>&nbsp;cause the following side-effects: (this list was compiled from published side-effects of the top-5 most often prescribed anti-depressants)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Nausea and vomiting<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Insomnia<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Decreased sex drive<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dizziness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Weight gain<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tremors<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sweating<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sleepiness or fatigue<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dry mouth<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Diarrhea<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Constipation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Headaches<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Potentially increased chance of suicide<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Potentially harmful effects on medical conditions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Potentially interacts with other medications you take<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In recent weeks, the&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/www.apa.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">American Psychological Association<\/a>&nbsp;has produced some wonderful material to help the general public understand what psychotherapy is, how it works, and why it is so effective in the treatment of anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other mental health issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Few Mental Health Diagnoses Require Medication<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>The APA presented information suggesting that there are certain psychological disorders that can be effectively helped with the addition of psychotropic medication\u2026such as severe depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. If you suffer&nbsp;from any of those 3 conditions, research has shown medication to&nbsp;be a beneficial component of treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the most important thing you need to know is that <strong>most other&nbsp;diagnoses<\/strong>&nbsp;may not benefit from the addition of medication. Given that the most often-prescribed psychotropic medications are anti-depressants, evidence was presented that discussed the research on the effectiveness&nbsp;of anti-depressant medication in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Non-Severe Depression: Meds No More Effective Than Placebo<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn a 2010 study in the&nbsp;<em>Journal of the American Medical Association<\/em>, for instance, researchers reviewed previous research on the effectiveness of anti-depressants. They found that antidepressants did help people with <strong>severe<\/strong>&nbsp;cases of depression. For mild to moderate depression, however, the<em><strong>&nbsp;medication wasn\u2019t any more effective than a placebo.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Psychotherapy CAN do:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the APA, &nbsp;although helpful for&nbsp;providing symptom management for very severe disorders, medication&nbsp;does not help individuals \u201cdevelop the&nbsp;skills they need to&nbsp;deal with life\u2019s problems.\u201d As opposed to&nbsp;psychotherapy, which teaches you skills&nbsp;and strategies that you get to take with you and use effectively for a lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sometimes You Need to Start With Meds<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Medication may be helpful, even necessary, &nbsp;to allow someone to function at work or to begin the process of engaging in therapy. Even so, for most emotional problems, medication cannot give you what you really need: tools to think differently, skills to behave differently, and strategies to live differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Psychotherapy: &nbsp;A Wise Investment in Resources<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have limited resources (most people do), then investing in medication that you have to take for an undetermined amount of time, and that will cease to provide you with benefits beyond the time you are taking it VERSUS investing in psychotherapy sessions which will provide you with life-long coping skills to help you get through the next crisis\u2026and the next one\u2026 and the next one\u2026.what makes the most investment sense?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To use a favorite analogy, we can either give you a fish today \u2026 actually, you are going&nbsp;to have to buy that fish \u2026and that fish isn\u2019t going to be cheap even with insurance \u2026and then&nbsp;you\u2019re going to have to keep buying fish in order to keep from going hungry.  <strong>OR<\/strong>  You can buy a fishing pole and your psychotherapist can teach you how to fish\u2026 and you won\u2019t go hungry again, because you can fish for yourself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-image alignwide uagb-block-ed0b2b3b wp-block-uagb-image--layout-default wp-block-uagb-image--effect-static wp-block-uagb-image--align-wide\"><figure class=\"wp-block-uagb-image__figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/AdobeStock_315973923-1024x683.jpeg \" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 150px\" src=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/AdobeStock_315973923-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"uag-image-1905\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" title=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:36px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Something Is Missing<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>The evidence shows that psychotherapy works. It&nbsp;works for the vast majority of people who use it, it works for most the mental health conditions, and it works better than or as well as medication. As a psychotherapist, I was so pleased to be able to point people toward research-based materials on treatment\u2026but there was something missing for me. There wasn\u2019t much presented&nbsp;on what psychotherapy CAN\u2019T do, so I felt the need to balance it out a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about how psychotherapy works:  <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/www.apa.org\/helpcenter\/understanding-psychotherapy.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">&nbsp;Understanding Psychotherapy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:14px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dr<\/em>.\u00a0<em>Anita Sanz<\/em>, PhD, Psychologist<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:28px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-56b9f35a alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:33px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-5f271558 alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\"><ul class=\"wp-block-categories-list alignleft wp-block-categories\">\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/category\/well-being\/\">Well Being<\/a> (59)\n<ul class='children'>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-20\"><a href=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/category\/well-being\/life-hacks\/\">Life Hacks<\/a> (20)\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-21\"><a href=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/category\/well-being\/tge_big_picture\/\">The Big Picture<\/a> (9)\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-22\"><a href=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/category\/well-being\/health\/\">Health<\/a> (10)\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-23\"><a href=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/category\/well-being\/relationships\/\">Relationships<\/a> (13)\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-24\"><a href=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/category\/well-being\/holidays\/\">Holidays<\/a> (7)\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-9\"><a href=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/category\/therapy\/\">Therapy<\/a> (43)\n<ul class='children'>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-12\"><a href=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/category\/therapy\/anxiety\/\">Anxiety<\/a> (11)\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-13\"><a href=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/category\/therapy\/depression\/\">Depression<\/a> (16)\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-14\"><a href=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/category\/therapy\/couch\/\">On The Couch<\/a> (16)\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\t<li class=\"cat-item cat-item-11\"><a href=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/category\/life-planning\/\">Life Planning<\/a> (5)\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:33px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<form role=\"search\" method=\"get\" action=\"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/\" class=\"wp-block-search__button-outside wp-block-search__text-button wp-block-search\"    ><label class=\"wp-block-search__label\" for=\"wp-block-search__input-1\" >Search<\/label><div class=\"wp-block-search__inside-wrapper\" ><input class=\"wp-block-search__input\" id=\"wp-block-search__input-1\" placeholder=\"\" value=\"\" type=\"search\" name=\"s\" required \/><button aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"wp-block-search__button wp-element-button\" type=\"submit\" >Search<\/button><\/div><\/form>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In recent weeks, the American Psychological Association has produced some wonderful material to help the general public understand what psychotherapy is, how it works, and why it is so effective in the treatment of anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other mental health issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1901,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,14],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-1893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-therapy","category-couch","tag-on_the_couch"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1893"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3601,"href":"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1893\/revisions\/3601"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anitasanz.com\/wp-dev\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}