OPINION: When it comes to mental health recovery, therapy is not the end of the road | Opinion

How can you help a person struggling with their mental health? The most obvious option might be to suggest that they seek treatment. We live in a time where more people than ever are seeking therapy. Mental health itself is no longer considered a fringe issue, and even celebrities talk openly about their struggles. Clearly, a visit to the therapist is no longer as taboo as it once was.

But what happens after booking the first counseling session? What’s the next step? When will things get better? How will it happen? Though the answers to these questions may vary, one uncomfortable truth is that the healing process can be unexpectedly messy. 

Mental health issues are often difficult to recognize; since the symptoms are largely internal, it’s easier to rationalize them away as ‘normal’ feelings that anybody might have. Starting treatment means confronting the reality that certain behaviors, thoughts and emotions that you repressed are actually signs of an underlying problem.

In some cases, this can feel freeing. But it can also be deeply distressing–as if you’ve been living with an invisible wound. Consequently, it’s common for people to walk away from therapy sessions feeling emotionally drained.  

There are other reasons why getting better can often be an unpleasant process. Effective therapy is also hard therapy. It constantly calls you to challenge yourself and it won’t let you get away with falling back into bad habits–even if those habits feel like the only reliable and safe ways to cope with your emotions.

There are also more practical challenges to consider. The limited availability of mental healthcare professionals means that finding a qualified therapist can be a journey. It is also easy to fall prey to unqualified individuals marketing themselves as professionals; this can expose an already vulnerable person to even more emotional pain. 

It is also difficult to ‘measure’ recovery the way we might do with a physical illness. Even professionals disagree over how to accurately assess mental health improvement. Healing can sometimes feel like a journey of blind faith, one where you constantly have to decide for yourself whether or not the treatment is actually working. 

Even with these challenges, there is a reason why getting people to seek help is so central to raising mental health awareness. Reaching out is the first part of healing. Additionally, letting these struggles go unaddressed only contributes to the stigma and hopelessness surrounding mental health. It’s crucial that we encourage people to be open about their feelings and to find a support system that meets their needs.

But it’s just as important to be realistic about the recovery process. I say this as somebody who walked away from therapy as a young teen. I was tired of ending every session feeling exhausted instead of carefree. I was also disappointed in my lack of visible improvement, and I knew it was worrying my friends and family.

What I and many of the people in my life didn’t understand at the time is that recovery doesn’t really begin or end at the therapist’s office. Reaching out and seeking treatment is just one step in a much bigger, nonlinear journey. That journey is challenging, but healing is worth the trouble. 

We need to be aware of the challenges: not to discourage struggling people from getting treatment, but to discourage them and their loved ones from giving up on it. Although I had no idea at the time, my decision to stop getting treatment ultimately set me back years in the healing process. A more multifaceted picture of mental health recovery can help others avoid making similar mistakes.