by Audrey Howitt

Created on: August 31, 2010

I am a licensed psychotherapist and have been a client in psychotherapy, so I know that my viewpoint is biased to answering the above question in the negative. What I hope to illustrate in this article are the reasons for my position.

We live in a society that values success. We measure it in dollars, in status symbols, in educational levels, in test scores and in our relationships with others. As we grow older, we measure it vicariously; if our children are successful, so too are we.   

In truth, we all struggle. We struggle on many levels and in many areas during the course of our lives.  At times, we all experience crises in our lives. The problem in our society is that we come to equate mental health with mental illness; only those who are mentally ill need to seek therapy.  In reality, we all need help from time to time.

Our concept of mental illness has changed considerably over the years. I expect that it will continue to change.  Early views of mental illness and mental health inculcated a stigma regarding mental health into this society.  In the days of colonization of the United States, those with mental illnesses were kept at home. Care was relegated to the family. Later, asylums were built where mental health patients were housed often for life in dilapidated conditions. [i]  Asylums were frightening and we have come to view mental health or the lack thereof as frightening.

Statistically, currently about 15% of the adult population in the United States utilizes mental health services during any given year. About half of that 15% carry a diagnosable mental illness or addictive problem. The remainder, seek services for a mental health problem. [ii] Were we to remove the stigma of mental health services, perhaps more would seek and benefit from those services.

Garden variety depression and anxiety as well as other mental conditions exist along  a continuum. We have all experienced depression, anxiety, phobias, angry and violent thoughts; at a given point on that continuum we consider the number and severity of symptoms associated with these and other conditions to be “diagnosable.”  Wherever we are on that continuum however, our experience may make us uncomfortable enough to seek another person to talk to about our experiences. In other words, when it becomes a problem for us, it is worth seeking someone out to talk with.  The problem need not be severe, in order to bother us.

Today, people

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>