Is Psychotherapy Enough for Personal Growth?

Philosophy Forums Psychology and Mind
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We all know people who’ve benefited from therapy—some of us have too. It helps with stress, relationships, emotions, identity. No doubt, psychotherapy can be a lifeline when things feel overwhelming.
Does therapy actually lead to lasting change, or does its impact fade once the sessions stop?

Martin Buber’s philosophy might offer a clue. He emphasized the difference between “I-Thou” relationships (authentic, reciprocal) and “I-It” ones (where the other is treated like an object). A lot of therapy—even humanistic approaches—can unintentionally fall into the “I-It” dynamic, where the therapist holds authority and the patient is analyzed.

That raises a deeper issue: Can true personal growth happen in a space where one person is paid to listen, and the other is scheduled to speak?

Maybe what we need isn’t just more therapy, ,but more genuine human connection. Maybe we should be teaching psychological principles early on, so people grow up with emotional literacy—even if they never set foot in a therapist’s office.

Have you felt therapy helped you long-term, or did its effects fade?

Do you think philosophy or authentic relationships can offer something therapy can’t

Would love to hear your thoughts.

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Therapists aren’t even allowed to hug their patients.

It always seemed like some kind of Blade Runner 2049 or Black Mirror dystopian capitalist thing or something.

Its relatively a modern thing in history and has not been proven evolutionarily.

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In the future when Car capitalists enslave humanity with their dystopian Ai powered cars that rob everyone of their humanity and cause defeneaning 400 mph noise. It will become the “new normal” and there will be therapists for that. Anyone who complains or rebels will be given medication and therapy and will be suggested various ways to conform to the car dystopia. In this way, they are subtle enforcers/enablers of the capitalist status quo.

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If your therapist is not encouraging that, fire them.

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100% agree. And everyone who works with kids should know them and be teaching them, first and foremost by example.

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Youth is the central theme. I’m not saying adults don’t need therapy, coaching, or support when we’re at a difficult point in our lives, but I see more and more young people I work with suffering episodes of anxiety and depression.

Although certain medications help balance those emotions temporarily, a more lasting solution must be offered—in this case, therapy

The point is that by the time young people seek therapy, they already carry a set of problems that could have been prevented if, from an early age, they had learned to see things in perspective. A problem is only as bad as you allow yourself to believe it is. I didn’t learn that until adulthood; it would be beneficial to help young people grasp it before we did, purely through experience. I believe that by reaching out and talking with people they trust, whether family members or acquaintances, they can forge a genuine connection—unlike what sometimes happens when a therapist examines you from atop their pedestal of credentials and diplomas.

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I think it is bizarre that what therapists teach isn’t common knowledge from an early age.

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Absolutely, @ichtus77. I believe they objectify the child, sometimes unintentionally. It’s just part of the training they receive.

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I’m not exactly sure what training you’re referring to. Or what you really mean by objectify.

In terms of being taught from a young age, I just mean that the tools therapists give people in therapy should be taught to children by anyone who works with children. It’s not that hard.

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Psychotherapy can be helpful. But, it isn’t always. It depends on the client, the therapist, the problem and the social/economic environment. In terms of measurable success, last time I checked, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) had the best outcomes among the various psychotherapeutic techniques.

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Says an AI, human mental health is on the decline and it’s affecting the young and middle-aged. So yes therapy would go a long way to pull these people out of mind chaos.

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I agree—CBT offers great benefits; I’ve experienced them firsthand

What’s interesting to explore is the possibility of ongoing cognitive behavioral therapy not just with a therapist, but within our inner circle, where the distinction between professional and patient is less pronounced.

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Right. Mental illness is too widespread for individual therapy to cure it. The community mental health movement began after WW II to address the problem but the funding and commitment hasn’t kept up with the problem. CBT is able to show measurable mental health gains quickly so health insurance is often willing to cover it. As long as society is sick, mental illness will be with us. The value of CBT extends beyond the one to one therapy model. It can be taught in the classroom, in texts, on Youtube, TikTok and other mediums. It does require availability, motivation and attention.

CBT, Buddhism, and Stoicism, despite their origins and differences, share a fundamental principle: Our thoughts and interpretations of events significantly influence our emotions and subsequent actions, and we can cultivate agency over this process.

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My Sensei made that for me. Imagine in the background: “calm like a bomb“ by rage against the machine. That bomb is so Zen… and that Zen is so bomb.

#ArtTherapy

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I have had both individual and group therapy. The latter was good for a while, for it provided me with opportunity of talking openly with different people about personal experiences I never before had the courage of exposing. Also, knowing how others react to certain life situations that we always think “can only happen to us” also helps to broad our horizons.

But of course therapy alone can never makes one grow if the person herself only goes there, listens for one hour or two and then goes home and “delete” all they’ve heard from their minds. So I believe the subject must make a conscious decision to choose a path in life that allows his mind to expand. Two essential things in this process, for me, are literature and art. Either passively or actively, exploring the world of human creation can never be any less than empowering, because the subect is forced to confront the immense potential for creative action a human being can have.

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I couldn’t agree more. As Ichtus77 mentioned, this is the kind of content both kids and adults should consume. Not only therapists, but also teachers and parents can guide people—whether they realize they have a problem or not, since we all deal with internal struggles—and help them extract value for their everyday reflections.

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Many among us in this group treasure art. Through its many forms—painting, music, literature, performance—it offers a path to catharsis. As Aristotle noted in his Poetics, even observing art can cleanse the emotions. Engaging with creativity fosters personal growth and deepens self-understanding.

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I don’t know if that is actually Aristotle‘s opinion or not. But I do like your comment.

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Ichthus77 (formerly She™)Ichthus77

1d

IMG_1562

My Sensei made that for me. Imagine in the background: “calm like a bomb“ by rage against the machine. That bomb is so Zen… and that Zen is so bomb.

#ArtTherapy

MaxMaxx

1d

I have had both individual and group therapy. The latter was good for a while, for it provided me with opportunity of talking openly with different people about personal experiences I never before had the courage of exposing. Also, knowing how others react to certain life situations that we always think “can only happen to us” also helps to broad our horizons.

But of course therapy alone can never makes one grow if the person herself only goes there, listens for one hour or two and then goes home and “delete” all they’ve heard from their minds. So I believe the subject must make a conscious decision to choose a path in life that allows his mind to expand. Two essential things in this process, for me, are literature and art. Either passively or actively, exploring the world of human creation can never be any less than empowering, because the subect is forced to confront the immense potential for creative action a human being can have.

@Maxx ,ishtus, Alonzo. :slight_smile:

Thinking that the coming objectivity is compelling the AI version to compensate the faith in all forms of analysis, as comprehension on all levels appear to dwindle in a timely fashion, for more prescriptions are filled as psychological simulations, for all kinds of addictions.

Decompensation be coms addictive as well, in viscous elliptical cycles, and recovery is tenuous .

My significant therapist met the Dalai Lame, coincidentally China broke diplomatic relations with the Check Republic only yesterday for the Check leader met the Lama on a summit including China. China considers Tibet a Chinese province,

Thing tie together into Languan knots , when the tying Yang of inside and outside don’t jive.Laing himself was irresponsible and heavy handed with his kids, while presenting a kind man, sympathetic to those not of his family.

How much harder now, when no one can afford a professional helping ear.

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..seek online sources.. there’s so much on offer on there.