You can say whatever you want about the TikTok generation, but you can’t blame them for their devotion to mental health. From trauma to perfectionism to AI-based chatbot apps, it’s never been easier to get advice to improve your mental health from therapists on TikTok, who offer 60-second videos.
Many therapists operate online, and with the rise of platforms such as BetterHelp that match people with therapists, more formal therapy is also readily available. You may be wondering if we should all try therapy.
But where do you start? With a bewildering variety of options, from talk therapy to body-based approaches to even those involving fantasy games like Dungeons & Dragons, it’s hard to know how to choose.
Until recently, science was of little help. People and their problems, by definition, are so personal that comparisons with those of the same kind have proven difficult. However, most have not yet been validated in rigorous trials, making it difficult to tie results to specific treatments.
But things are starting to change. Over the past few years, scientists have made a concerted effort to better understand not only what a treatment does to the brain, but who it helps and why. They even found that it could sometimes do more harm than good.
Psychotherapy is…
