As a person who has been in treatment for depression and anxiety for a long time, I've often wondered: what's a more effective treatment for mental illness: medication or psychotherapy?
Since everyone is different, it generally depends on each individual. However, while I believe that meds and psychotherapy are equally important, in general, psychatric meds help more people than talk therapy does.
So how can therapy be just as important but at the same time be less effective (in my opinion)?
I think therapy is just as important because as great as meds can be, they don't do everything. If someone has had overly-negative views about the world and themselves due to suffering through one or more traumas in their lives, the meds aren't going to make everything better. Years of suffering from depression, anxieties, and other forms of mental illness don't just disappear after that person has been put on the right medications. That's where psychotherapy helps. Therapy is a slow process. But without it, meds alone aren't a cure-all.
However, at the same time, I think meds are more effective because so many people who seek counseling from a qualified therapist don't put in their best effort to overcome their issues. I'm not saying that all people with mental health issues don't do what they can to help themselves. But a lot of them don't (if you don't believe that, talk to any mental health worker). And if someone doesn't do what they can to help themselves, the therapy is much less likely to benefit that person.
Psychotherapy can be terrific for those who have gotten on the right medications and do what they can to help themselves. But for those who are in therapy just to disagree with everything the counselor says, not work on their goals, and rely soley on their pills as a feeble attempt to overcome their issues, don't expect the therapy to be equally helpful as the meds have been.
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