Does therapy really work?

Therapists like me bang on about how therapy works.

That's not just my view, though. The evidence backs it up. The jury's in. We know therapy works.

Not all therapy. Not for everyone.

But in general, it does.

Decades of research have consistently shown psychotherapy to be effective - with an effect size larger than almost all interventions in cardiology, and greater than the success rate of flu vaccinations.

Pause on that fact for a moment. The studies show that three-quarters of people who have therapy are better off than those who don’t.

That’s 75 people in every 100. And, similarly, 75% of people who have therapy would recommend it to a friend or family member.

Although there is still debate about exactly what kind of therapy works best, there is almost no serious disagreement that therapy is a cost-effective way of relieving emotional distress even compared to medication or other medical treatments.

Bear that in mind the next time someone dismisses therapy as "just talking".

If you're interested in reading a more detailed article about the evidence behind therapy's effectiveness, check out this one I wrote for Therapy Today magazine with Matt Wotton, my co-founder at The London Centre for Applied Psychology.