What is Psychotherapy?Psychotherapy is an intentional interpersonal relationship used by trained psychotherapists to aid a client in problems of living. It aims to increase the individual's sense of well-being and reduce their subjective sense of discomfort. Psychotherapists employ a range of techniques based on experiential relationship building, dialogue, communication and behavior change and that are designed to improve the mental health of a client or patient, or to improve group relationships (such as in a family). Psychotherapy may be performed by practitioners with a number of different qualifications, including psychologists, marriage and family therapists, licensed clinical social workers, counselors, psychiatric nurses, and psychiatrists.
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In the West
Every American family should have a family therapist (psychotherapist). Also in other Western countries. Family therapists are must-haves. They are recommended when anything goes wrong, family relationships, friendship, relationships, business, shocks, diseases, deaths, etc.
Now the problem here is that Westerns take it to the extreme. Many people can't lead a life without their therapist. They pay more than $500 a month on regular therapy when they have nothing wrong with their lives. They constantly seek advice creating a permanent inability to make the right choices themselves or to plan their lives the way they want. The therapist will do all the decision making basing his advice on the givens received from the client (patient). This creates, in my opinion, an emotional attachment with the therapist if the client and the therapist are from different sexes.
Many people's lives, plans and decision depend on the therapists' words. 47% of psychotherapy "patients" don't need psychotherapy at all, they just need to talk and be heard by running away from their problems and letting someone else fix them. Where's the therapy in that? It's somehow more of a fashion than a need for those people, they brag about going to expensive therapists more than bragging about having the problem fixed.
I think psychotherapy is overrated in the West; later will result in lack of the ability to be independent. Being independent is not only the physical disintegration from the family, it also means having the ability to make your own choices and decisions by yourself. Maybe, trying to fix your problem while taking full responsibility for them will help. A person only lives once, why feel the need to make someone else tell him what to do, regardless of who he is. I think the best way to make it work is keep psychotherapy for the ones needing it and not overdoing it.
In the Middle East
"Your child is behaving abnormally, he is not talking to anyone, seek psychological help." Said Salma to Fatina. "What?! My boy is not crazy! He just doesn't like to talk to anyone, we realized this since he was 4 and he's ten now. He's perfectly fine. Only crazy people go seek psychological help. He'll change when he grows up." Fatina replied.
This is a very typical answer or reaction. In the Middle East, going to a psychotherapist is only for crazy people. The statistics prove that only 0.3% of the Middle Easterns go to therapists. They live in constant denial and false hope. Seeking psychological help or assistance is an insult that might truly ruin and destroy friendships and relationships.
What amazes me more is that when I am sitting with Middle Easterns watching a movie about a woman that sees a therapist, they actually like the idea and say I wish we "can" do this. Now this pisses me off because they think they can't so they won't be judged or talked about as "crazy" people.
With all the wars, crimes, religion extremism, parental mistakes, physical abuse in schools and homes, constant stress in our lives; we are in desperate need of therapists. The Middle Easterns are the right people and the perfect candidates for psychotherapy. I don't mean Middle Easterns are "crazy" because I am one of them myself. All I mean is with all the negativity around us, psychotherapy will help relieve so much stress and trauma we suffered and suffering from on a daily basis.
I was talking with my friend Dina, who is studying child psychology, about psychology in general. She mentioned something very important that we never or barely notice. Mental health. My personal association from what she told me and what I am saying is that wars, crimes, religion extremism, parental mistakes, physical abuse of any kind and stressful environments will shaken and disrupt the mental health of a human being. Resulting in creating more physical vulnerability to diseases and illnesses because the mind and body are directly connected, you're stressed, your immunity drops low. You're happy, your immunity works at its best. Scientifically proven.
Creating more awareness to the Middle Easterns regarding mental health care will fix many things. I think having a more open-to-psychotherapy society will help alot in reducing the feeling of vengeance after wars and crimes; will reduce the need to go to extreme religious measures; will reduce parental mistakes regarding raising a perfectly healthy positive minded kid; will reduce work and education related stress; and will also reduce the possibility of becoming a bully or a failure in case of an earlier or young physical abuse. The results will be a better mental-to-physical health in the Middle East. Psychotherapy should not be underrated by the Middle Eastern society because it's a mean of treatment like all other kinds of therapy.
