IN TREATMENT

What mental health experts want you to know about therapy beyond CBT and, well, Instagram

- SAMREEN TUNGEKAR

In the pre-Reels era, the most lifechanging book I've ever read as an avid consumer of psychology literature is Attached by Dr. Amir Levine and Rachel Heller. I was also actively seeking mental health treatment for three years through the most commonly known form of therapy: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which is simply described as a form of talking therapy. Cut to the pandemic and the boom of content, and my explore feed was brimming with information on attachment styles, trauma, inner child, and other pop psych terms that have taken over the internet.

The problem with information on social media, even the coolest psychologists who have their own brands on these platforms now will admit, is the hyperfocus on one topic, and the lack of space to look at the universe around it.

Psychology and psychiatry are exactly that - a universe - and as we become more comfortable in understanding talk therapy, it's time to realise that the scope of help in mental health goes far beyond.

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