From The New Yorker
This New Yorker article, “The Rise of Therapy-Speak,” looks at how the language of therapy has moved into everyday conversation.
Two Sides of Therapy-Speak
As psychotherapy becomes less stigmatized, more people go to therapy, and more people bring the language of therapy into their daily lives. That is a welcome shift in many ways. There may also be a downside. When mental health terms are used loosely, the very real struggles of people living with mental health conditions can be trivialized.
A Note From PPG
Words used in therapy often have specific meanings, and a term that fits one person's experience may not fit another's. Whether you use clinical words or everyday ones, what matters is being understood. If you would like help finding language for what you are experiencing, individual therapy is one place to start. For related reading, see our posts on what is normal in mental health and signs it may be time to seek therapy.
Related Care and Reading
- Adult Therapy: Individual therapy for adults.
- What Is Normal in Mental Health? Why Averages Can Mislead: Thinking about labels and averages.
- When to Seek Psychotherapy: 5 Signs It May Be Time: Signs that support may help.
- Are Negative Emotions Bad? A Look at Difficult Feelings: Working with feelings we would rather avoid.
