Therapy for mental health: How it can help you heal

Psychotherapy can help you build the skills to handle tough experiences while learning to love and accept yourself throughout.

Exploring therapy for mental health can be life-changing. In psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy, you learn the skills that help you process difficult experiences and build mental resilience.

This article explores how therapy works, its different types, and how it can help you work through trauma or challenging circumstances.

What is therapy for mental health?

Therapy is a way to improve your mental health with a trained professional, often by setting goals and talking through the thoughts, beliefs, and actions that may be getting in the way.

You may seek therapy for general mental health conditions, like anxiety or depression, or try it after a significant life event, like divorce or losing a parent.

Therapy is a confidential space to explore your feelings and experiences with a professional trained to provide nonjudgmental and unbiased guidance – something we don’t always get from family or friends.

How therapy works

You’ll first need to find a therapist you connect with. Together, you’ll set goals and meet regularly to make progress. Here’s what you can expect.

Find a therapist

Choosing the right therapist is one of the most important steps when starting therapy because you have to trust this person enough to share your story and follow their guidance.

You can search for a therapist online by looking through profiles on websites like PsychologyToday.com, GoodTherpay.org, or Zocdoc.com – or by simply searching for “therapist near me.” 

There are several types of therapists. One major distinction is between psychologists and psychiatrists. While both professionals can diagnose and treat mental health conditions, psychiatrists are medical doctors who can also prescribe medication. Psychologists are not. 

You don’t have to find your own therapist. Websites like BetterHelp or Talkspace will match you with one based on your needs.

When searching for a therapist, it’s okay to be picky. You can usually specify gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, and other preferences that make you feel comfortable connecting with this person.

Finding your best match may take one, two, or several tries. But once you find your match, you’ll see that the effort was worth it.

Establish therapy goals

If you don’t know what you want out of therapy, it’ll be hard to make progress. Setting goals can help you and your therapist understand what good, happy, or healthy looks like.

Your therapy goals will be personal, but here are some examples of what they could look like.

• Improve self-worth and acceptance.
• Heal from trauma or abuse.
• Manage stress or anxiety.
• Deal with grief or loss.
• Overcome an addiction.
• Strengthen a relationship.

You can set goals before your first session or create them with your therapist. 

Meet with your therapist regularly

How often you meet with your therapist can depend on your needs and their availability. Weekly sessions are common, especially when first starting out, but you may be able to meet more or less frequently. 

For example, if you’re living with severe, debilitating emotions, you may meet two or three times a week with your therapist. 

Some women are more comfortable meeting monthly or quarterly, but this is usually after making significant progress toward their therapy goals.

Costs may also factor into how often you see your therapist, especially if they don’t accept insurance. In-person therapists usually charge per session. Online programs typically have a monthly membership that covers one live weekly session, and you’ll pay a bit more if you need to meet more frequently. 

Trust the process – but be honest

Therapists have different approaches to meeting their clients’ needs. Generally, yours will work with you to uncover the thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors that keep you stuck. 

Expect to talk a lot while your therapist actively listens and takes notes. 

Not every conversation will be easy or pleasant, and that is okay. Your therapist may challenge certain thought patterns or reactions. You may feel intense emotions as you recall certain events. 

Getting to the root of an issue can be uncomfortable. If you trust your therapist, try your best to trust the process. 

Still, don’t be afraid to be honest.

You can let your therapist know if you’re not ready to discuss a topic or feel overwhelmed. A good therapist will not be easily offended and can adjust based on your needs. 

Stick with therapy as long as you need to

Your time in therapy can last as long as you need it to. Although you can end therapy whenever you want, don’t feel pressure to rush through the process or meet a specific timeframe.

Your therapist may review your goals and progress periodically. Together, you can determine if it’s time to end your sessions or move to less frequent check-ins.

Types of therapy

There are several types of therapies for different mental health conditions. Here are some of the most common.

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT helps you identify negative thought patterns and replace them with healthier ones. You’ll likely practice noticing your thoughts with your therapist, especially negative ones that can feed emotions like low self-esteem, anxiety, and hopelessness.
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): ACT helps you detach from negative thoughts so you spend less time in your head and more time living in the present. You’ll practice accepting your thoughts and letting them pass with your therapist. This strategy creates the space for you to focus on your values and the actions to support them.
• Psychodynamic psychotherapy: A longer-termed therapeutic approach, psychodynamic therapy focuses on how your unconscious thoughts, desires, memories, childhood experiences, relationships, and more impact your behavior.
• Interpersonal therapy (IPT): IPT is typically a short-term therapeutic approach to treat depression. It focuses on how relationships impact your emotions and how your emotions affect your relationships. Your therapist may use the IPT method if you struggle to express yourself, relate to others, or resolve conflict.
• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT): Like CBT, DBT focuses on your thought life. Instead of working to replace unhealthy thoughts, you may practice more validation and acceptance techniques. DBT can be especially helpful if you deal with intense, disturbing emotions, like those that can occur with borderline personality disorder (BPD), depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) ³.
• Exposure therapy: In exposure therapy, you’ll learn strategies to cope with situations that trigger intense anxiety or fear. You are then slowly exposed to the trigger in a safe and controlled setting so you can practice the skills you’ve learned. This type of therapy can be helpful if you deal with PTSD, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or a debilitating phobia.  

Does therapy actually help?

Therapy gives you the skills to know and love yourself. It builds mental resilience that’s critical for when life gets hard.

Here are a few ways therapy can help you heal:

• Get to the root of what’s feeding stress, anxiety, depression, or other symptoms you may be dealing with.
• Learn to experience your thoughts and emotions without self-judgment.
• Understand unhealthy thought patterns or behaviors that hold you back.
• Identify healthy ways to process painful memories or experiences.
• Practice self-acceptance and validation.

Beyond helping you manage emotions, there is evidence that therapy can heal or restore the parts of the brain negatively impacted by mental health conditions.

For example, a 2024 Stanford Medicine study found that cognitive behavioral therapy reduced depression symptoms in patients. Patients’ brains within the same study showed adaptive changes ⁴. 

CBT has also been shown to quiet parts of the brain that are overactive in people with panic disorder in a separate 2017 study in India ⁵. 

In addition to improved symptoms, individuals dealing with obsessive-compulsive disorder showed recovery in fiber connections in regions of the brain in a 2018 study ⁶.

Therapy can absolutely help your mental health, but fit matters. Give yourself time to find the right therapist and approach to address your needs.

How much does therapy cost?

On average, therapy can cost $100 to $200 per session without insurance, according to Psychology Today. With insurance, the cost drops to $21 for in-network and $60 for out-of-network therapy. 

Whether insurance covers therapy and how much it covers will depend on your insurance plan.

Online therapy is often more affordable and accessible than in-person therapy, especially if you choose a platform that accepts your insurance. These websites generally offer monthly memberships that cover one weekly live session through phone, video, or chat and unlimited messages to your therapist.

For example, BetterHelp charges $260 to $400 monthly but does not accept insurance ⁷. Online platforms like Talkspace and Talkiatry accept many types of insurance, so you’ll likely pay less with them ^8,9.

When to consider therapy

Consider therapy if you feel stuck in uncomfortable or unpleasant emotions and you want to feel better. 

Many mental health professionals recommend therapy if your symptoms get in the way of your daily activities. It’s also a good idea to talk with your doctor, particularly if your symptoms are severe.

If you’re on the fence, just know that you deserve peace. You deserve to know just how strong you actually are when given the right tools. 

Getting help supporting your mental health is self-love, and you deserve it.

Find a licensed therapist online to get started.

For immediate help with thoughts of suicide or harming yourself, please call or text 988 to get in touch with a trained counselor through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Therapy for mental health FAQs

Is therapy worth it?

Therapy can be expensive, especially if you can’t use insurance. However, it can also be effective at reducing symptoms of common mental health conditions, like anxiety, depression, and OCD – with or without mental health medication ¹⁰. To get the most out of therapy, find the right therapist and type of therapy based on your needs. Look for a licensed professional who takes insurance to lower your costs.

Which type of therapy works best?

Several types of therapy can address different challenges and disorders. Some methods, like dialectical behavior therapy and exposure therapy, may help with intense, debilitating symptoms. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most common types that focuses on identifying negative thought patterns and replacing them with positive ones.

How long does therapy take to work?

There is no set timeline for how long you should be in therapy. Ideally, you’ll stay in therapy until you reach the goals you and your therapist outline during your first sessions. For example, if your goal is to handle a major career change, your therapy could be short-term. Broader and more complex topics, like low self-worth, may take longer to unpack and work through.

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References

¹ Different Types of Mental Health Therapies | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. (2025). Adaa.org. https://adaa.org/find-help/treatment-help/types-of-therapy

² Clinic, C. (2022, July 12). Psychotherapy (talk therapy) is a term for a variety of treatment techniques that aim to help you identify and change unhealthy emotions, thoughts and behaviors. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/23445-psychotherapy

³ Corliss, J. (2024, January 22). Dialectical behavior therapy: What is it and who can it help? – Harvard Health. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/dialectical-behavior-therapy-what-is-it-and-who-can-it-help-202401223009

⁴ Cognitive behavioral therapy enhances brain circuits to relieve depression. (2024). News Center. https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2024/09/cognitive-behaviora-therapy-depression.html

⁵ Malhotra, S., & Sahoo, S. (2017). Rebuilding the brain with psychotherapy. Indian journal of psychiatry, 59(4), 411–419. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.217299

⁶ Zhong, Z., Yang, X., Cao, R., Li, P., Li, Z., Lv, L., & Zhang, D. (2019). Abnormalities of white matter microstructure in unmedicated patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder: Changes after cognitive behavioral therapy. Brain and behavior, 9(2), e01201. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.1201

⁷ Team, B. E. (2022, March 24). Does BetterHelp Take My Insurance? Explore Potential Options. Betterhelp.com; BetterHelp. https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/general/does-betterhelp-take-insurance-what-to-know-about-paying-for-therapy/ 

⁸ Online Therapy & Psychiatry Covered By Insurance | Talkspace. (2025). Talkspace.com. https://www.talkspace.com/coverage/insurance

⁹ Online Therapy & Psychiatry Covered By Insurance | Talkspace. (2025). Talkspace.com. https://www.talkspace.com/coverage/insurance

¹⁰ Science Behind Therapy | Mental Health America. (2024). Mental Health America. https://mhanational.org/resources/science-behind-therapy/