There are three primary things that people want from therapy. These items are based on a recent valid survey of over 15oo responses as reported by researcher Linda Michaels, PsyD, MBA. She is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Chicago. She is also the chair and co-founder of the Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN), a non-profit that advocates for quality therapy. Her group took on an extensive research project leveraging data and techniques widely used in the corporate world in 2024, focused on listening to the public and understanding what people want from therapy. This is the result of that endeavor.
What do you want from therapy?
The top responses are:
- To better understand themselves and to get to the root cause of symptoms. They understood they might have to dig through some layers to get there, and that good therapy takes time. Over 70% said this!
- To gain skills and coping tools, and not just medications. Over 70% said this!
- To share thoughts and feelings without feeling shamed. 66% stated this.
I love these answers, because that’s what good therapy is! All most people want is to feel seen and heard, and to walk away with a new idea, perspective and/or set of tools they can use to improve their lives and relationships.
About 1/3 said they’d never go to therapy; they would just talk to friends and family. About 23% said they would consider meds, but the majority expressed NOT wanting meds, that they would rather talk first vs going to medications first.
When you read this, what would you want? Have you received it? If not, contact me here to explore what it would be like to work with me, especially for couples therapy. I see couples in conflict, couples considering a split, and neurodiverse couples.
What do you want from therapy?
