August 27, 2025.
Written by General Psychologist, James Blaze

Therapy Myths Explored

People can have a variety of ideas about how therapy can be based on portrayals from movies, books and other people’s experiences. People who seek therapy are often depicted as crazy, ill/, or deficient. It is understandable that these descriptions might stop us from engaging in therapy, as we might not resonate with them. This blog will explore some potential myths about therapy and some reasons why we should challenge them.

Therapy is only for people with serious mental illnesses.

Therapy can often be depicted in the media in settings where patients have debilitating mental health issues. This might be confronting for some. It may also be generalised to how all patients/clients present. This is not necessarily the case. People without severe and intense mental illness can still seek and receive therapy for issues that might include stress, relationship issues, grief and life transitions. Consider what may be more important: perceptions others could have about you, or not experiencing the issue that you currently have.

Talking to friends and family is the same as therapy.

This might be helpful in its own way; however, it can be different in many ways. Although family and friends are loved, they may not always be unbiased, which psychologists are trained to be. Unless they, too, are psychologists, they likely do not hold training in evidence-based interventions that have been proven effective in treating particular issues. They may also not have the time, availability or patience to see you regularly. Think about a time or area of your life where you received a similar professional and personal service. What were the differences?

I should be strong enough to handle things on my own.

Many of us may hold beliefs that if our issues are not physical, then we should be able to handle them on our own. Help seeking for mental health challenges might be on par with seeking help for medical issues; that is, if we are unable to understand or cope with them, then we should seek someone with training who can help. Challenge yourself to separate types of health from each other, and consider whether it is more important whether you should or should not be able to cope. Consider help seeking in general for what you are struggling with, how that can apply to various areas in your life (school, work, sport, etc).

Therapy is too expensive.

Therapy can seem expensive, especially if we are already sceptical about whether it will work or not or if we are attending to other financially pressing issues surrounding the therapy-related problem. If considering therapy, investigate insurances or government schemes that can cover a portion of the fee or seek out bulk billing options. It may be worth having a discussion around fees with your psychologist before starting if this is an important factor.

My psychologist will judge me.

Psychologists are people who may hold beliefs around a variety of things related to what you share with them. They have also likely spent countless years and sums of money pursuing their profession. As a result, psychologists have been trained to avoid any form of bias, prejudice or judgment from impairing their work with clients. In addition to feeling critical of clients themselves, allowing bias and judgments into the therapeutic space jeopardises much of the hard work that their clients’ psychologists aim to honour. So, it would be in their best interest to keep their personal opinions within their personal life. If you do feel judged in session, challenge yourself to communicate this to your psychologist and explore it further. It may repair a misunderstanding or reveal patterns of thinking that you may not have been aware of.

Therapy is just talking and will not change anything.

Therapy can be a space where talking mostly happens and might at times feel overly casual. Although other things often happen as part of this talking, which can include contacting uncomfortable emotions, rehearsing dialogue, revisiting painful memories and planning exposure to feared situations. Therapy can be diverse, and active participation in collaborative planning will help you get the most out of the process. Reflect on your willingness to follow collaborative guidance and be sure you are in the know about what you and your psychologist are working towards and what you can do outside of sessions to improve your situation.

Therapy will take forever.

If you are not aware of the goals and plans agreed upon in therapy, it may feel like therapy is aimless, and it will take forever to feel better. A good psychologist will make it clear the issues and goals they are helping you with. During the course of therapy, goals can be achieved, shifted or abandoned. Clients may experience relief or stagnation and return at times that better suit. Be transparent with your psychologist about what is and is not working so new plans can be created to work better towards what you want to get out of therapy.

There might be many reasons to suspect therapy-related myths. Being knowledgeable about expectations from therapy and ways to challenge beliefs that have yet to be proven can be useful. Ultimately, engaging with therapy may be the most useful way to challenge these myths. If you are in need of support but are feeling sceptical, reach out and let an available psychologist know this, as it is normal and natural to feel that way.