It's midterm season again. Our stress levels are rising. As the week goes on, listen to the conversations around you. Haven't you heard at least one person jokingly begin a sentence with "My therapist thinks..." or end with, "That's what my therapist said"? Do you ever see self-critical jokes on Twitter accompanied by the hashtag #NeedTherapy?
We hear these jokes more and more in comedy. Sarah Silverman frequently laughs about childhood traumas - the time she discovered her therapist had hanged himself, but was forced to stay until the end of the session. We see it on the Internet. Lena Dunham's Twitter bio begins with "My life is my art, and therapy is my palette." Depression has always been the mark of an artist.
And though we all aren't tortured artists, there is no denying that being conflicted is sexy. Having problems is endearing. People who want to seem funny and smart and open-minded talk about therapy - infer it, joke about it. It's like going to yoga or getting a massage or drinking Odwalla juice. It's supposed to be healthy.
According to Belinda Johnson, director of Brown Psychological Services, the percentage of the Brown student body seeking therapy has oscillated between 16 percent and 18 percent throughout the last 10 years. Nevertheless, Johnson believes "there has been a steady, though gradual, decrease in the stigma associated with seeking help." And the rise in students seeking help is not unique to Brown. In 2009-10, 8 percent of the Colorado State University student body used psychological services. That rose to 13 percent in the next two years. All around the country, health experts are observing similar increases in visits to mental health facilities. But why?
Maybe it's because pop culture - mainly reality television - is constantly referencing therapy.
It all started with Dr. Drew and "Celebrity Rehab." Then the Real Housewives started broadcasting their "tawk" sessions. Shortly after there was "Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis" - who is not a therapist himself, but a real estate agent who renovates houses. And most recent is the VH1 series, "Couples Therapy." In February, Bravo was even casting for a rumored Los Angeles-based reality show called "The Therapists."
Our obsession with "treatment" extends beyond television. Athletes have sports psychologists. Celebrities do it. Some say a network of shrinks connects the entire city of New York. Therapy is trendy. Well, at least talking about it is.
But is therapy really supposed to be something entertaining or is this just another example of tabloid voyeurism - do we have misconceptions about what "seeing a therapist" actually means?
Possibly. Those of us who are running to the fifth floor of J. Walter Wilson might be disappointed. First of all, therapy is not free. It can be expensive. Not all insurance plans cover it, or the co-pay is horrendous. Brown offers seven free sessions per year before students have to come up with cash.
And believe it or not, sometimes therapy can make people feel worse. Though it's disputable, there is an inherent conflict of interest where therapists lose money when patients stop seeking help. Sometimes patients are panicked into believing they have more problems than they actually do. Feeling sad? Nothing 50 more sessions can't cure.
Yet that's the supposedly beautiful thing about therapy - there is no destination, only a journey. That means you won't be closing your wallet until well, forever. Unless your therapist hangs himself Silverman-style, and the journey finally ends. Or you die.
Don't get me wrong. There are times when therapy is absolutely necessary. If you are depressed, chronically anxious, a subject of trauma, then it's a good idea to get help. But the whole reason "there is a steady, though gradual decrease" in the stigma associated with therapy is not because people are more accepting of mental conditions like depression and anxiety. These, in fact, still face unjust stigmatization. It's because being obsessed with one's own mental health has become normalized. Therapy is something "normal" people do. It is devalued.
Brown may offer students seven free sessions but there is no therapist in the world that believes a person can be treated in seven sessions. Because therapy is ongoing. It's not something you can mark off a checklist. It's not like going to the gym. Even after many months of sessions, I often hear students complain they "still don't feel treated" - maybe because there was never a condition to treat.
Therapy draws us inward, but sometimes what we really need is to be pushed out, outside our own heads, outside the Brown bubble. Some say volunteering is the best therapy. And there are other natural supports that can help with emotional distress - friends, family, peers, exercise, meditation. The list goes on.
Because therapy isn't fun. It's not like getting a massage. And if you're doing it right, it shouldn't feel good. It should feel painful, and then weird, and then somehow okay. And if you don't need it, why would you want to go through that?
There's no denying some people really benefit from therapy. And while I don't think Brown should cut back on its services, I do think we should question ourselves before we consider it a fast solution for all types of emotional distress.
Cara Dorris '15 can be reached at cara_dorris@brown.edu or @CaraDorris.
