Why People Seek Therapy? – Understanding the Benefits of Therapy

Contrary to popular belief, therapy isn’t just for people with severe mental health issues or people diagnosed with mental illnesses. Anyone can seek therapy! Life is hard and sometimes; we need some support to get through hard times.

People can seek therapy for various reasons, such as:

1. Self-understanding and soul searching

• Improve self-awareness (of your emotions, behaviours, thoughts)
• Discover your identity
• Uncover your life’s purpose or meaning
• Explore your career path

If you weren’t taught to connect with your emotions from a young age, you might struggle with recognizing what you’re feeling or thinking at any given moment. A lack of self-awareness can lead to uncertainty about your likes, dislikes, life purpose, or career direction. Therapy can be your first step toward self-discovery!

2. Improve your relationship with yourself

• Increase self-esteem and self-worth
• Build confidence at work and personal life
• Foster self-compassion and self-love
• Strengthen trust within yourself

Many people struggle with self-worth and rely on external factors to feel valued—like earning a high salary, owning branded items, having the ‘perfect’ body, or receiving compliments. Without these, feelings of worthlessness and self-hatred can emerge. Therapy helps you nurture a healthier relationship with yourself, affirming your intrinsic worth as a human being.

3. Improve relationship with others

• Develop better communication skills
• Handle conflicts in a healthy manner
• Set and maintain healthy boundaries
• Embrace vulnerability

Relationships often feel challenging because they require vulnerability. If vulnerability feels intolerable, you might avoid hard, yet necessary conversations or struggle to set boundaries. Therapy equips you with the skills to foster healthier relationships by helping you embrace vulnerability and navigate conflicts constructively.

4. Heal from trauma

• Understand how adverse experiences impact your present self
• Identify and understand your triggers
• Learn to live outside of ‘survival mode’
• Reconnect with your body

Trauma reshapes our nervous system, essentially changing the way we think, feel, and respond to things. Adverse experiences, notably during childhood, can leave you stuck in ‘survival mode’ long into adulthood. Therapy offers a safe path to healing—helping you move from merely surviving to truly living.

5. Find support during tough times

• Adjust to life transitions and uncertainties
• Process grief and other complex emotions
• Learn healthy coping methods

Life’s unpredictability can be overwhelming—whether it’s a drastic change like job loss, a breakup, the death of a loved one, or ongoing stressors like family conflicts or toxic workplace. Therapy provides a safe space to process these emotions and develop practical coping strategies to move forward.

6. Develop healthier behavioral patterns

• Break old and unhealthy habits
• Build new and healthier habits

Changing your habits can be hard! It might take a while to break old habits, even when you know they’re unhealthy for you. Therapy can help you understand how your habits were formed and gradually replace them with healthier habits!

Thanks for reading! I hope this post helps you understand the various reasons people seek therapy. Remember, therapy is for anyone who needs help to cope with life!


Written by Keen Ji, licensed counsellor. To learn more about me, check out my Therapist Profile.