If you are among those whose head is bruised by the weight of grief and sorrow, whose body carries scars, opening yourself to a healthy and safe relationship can help you heal. This is, of course, possible through therapy as well. Because we are wounded in relationships and healed through them.
What is Therapy?
When we are lost, we want someone to see us even from behind walls; we hope someone will actually find us. We all want to feel that we are felt in this world. Therapy answers precisely this need. Forty minutes of someone listening to you with their whole being, seeing what happens in your heart with theirs, is a deeply valuable experience. To connect with someone who hears the unheard and sees the unseen reminds us that we are not alone and can be understood.
Therapy is also an art; it requires listening, being fully present, and staying in sync with the moment. In this process, the client makes new discoveries within their inner world and becomes aware of their emotions and experiences. Therapy is not just an intervention or technique; it is a meaningful meeting space where a person can establish a safe relationship with themselves and others. In other words, the therapy room is not only a physical space; it is also a relational space where trust, understanding, and acceptance exist.
According to the American Psychological Association (2020), therapy is a collaborative treatment process between psychologist and client that helps people make sense of their mental processes and emotions. Therapy is particularly effective in healing the wounds caused by trauma. By focusing on the person’s needs, it opens new doors and allows them to examine the story behind emotions they find difficult to endure today. Being able to notice and engage with overwhelming emotions helps relieve the inner burden. Allowing ourselves to express our feelings contributes both to understanding the traces of our past and to approaching the present with stronger steps.
As Engin Geçtan points out, the chaos we generate within ourselves is far more terrifying than the dangers in the outside world. Therapy is an alliance based on trust that enables a person to make sense of this inner chaos. This process broadens the client’s emotional and behavioral repertoire, alleviates symptoms, and helps them gain deep self-insight.
What Does Therapy Change in the Brain?
It is now scientifically established that psychotherapy leads to significant structural and functional changes in the brain. Neuroimaging studies on different therapeutic approaches have examined changes in brain metabolism and activity before and after treatment. For instance, PET scans of patients with depression undergoing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) have shown improvements similar to those receiving pharmacotherapy. Similarly, for individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder, both CBT and medication reduced hyperactivity in the rostral caudate nucleus. In social and specific phobias, successful CBT has been associated with normalization of metabolism in frontal brain regions.
Studies on psychodynamic therapy have produced similar results. In individuals diagnosed with depression, interpersonal psychotherapy has helped balance abnormal activity in the prefrontal cortex and the cingulate cortex. All these findings indicate that different therapy approaches—regardless of school—create recovery-oriented changes in specific brain regions (especially the cingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala) and are effective in treating psychiatric disorders.
Conclusion
Kemal Sayar states: “We all want to tell stories; we feel relief as we share. Humans are beings who narrate and tell stories, but to do this, we need an audience, an ear, a companion.”
Therapy provides exactly this: the therapist opens a space within the client, sees their cries and outbursts, acknowledges them, and perceives them. Because to exist is to be perceived. In essence, therapy is another person touching your soul, listening to your story, and doing so with wholehearted willingness. The therapist sets aside biases, assumptions, and preconceptions, listens with an open heart, and is present with you.
NOTE: Opening yourself to a safe relationship allows your wounded self to heal, illuminating your path and giving yourself the space you need.
Kaynakça:
Alkan, M. (2007). Interpersonal psychotherapy of major depression and recurrent depression. Journal of Internal Medical Sciences, 3, 52-59.
Cozzolino, L. (2016). Terapi neden işe yarar. İstanbul: Psikoterapi Enstitüsü Eğitim Yayınları.
Erbay, L., & Ünal, S. (2017). Terapi beyinde ne yapar. Turkiye Klinikleri J Child Psychiatry-Special Topics, 3(2), 163-168.
Gabbart, G. O., & Bennett, T. J. (2001). Psychodynamic psychotherapy of depression. Gabbard’s treatments of psychiatric disorders. K. Alptekin, & Ö. Öztürk (Trans. Ed.), Veri Medikal Yayıncılık, 433-438.
Geçtan, E. (1989). İnsan olmak (Vol. 90). Remzi Kitabevi.
VARMA, G., & KARADAĞ, R. (2012). The biological effects of psychotherapy in major depressive disorders: a review of neuroimaging studies. Psychology, 3(10).