Mental health is suffering greatly, the pandemic has led to job loss and insecurity, social isolation and an ever-growing feeling of uncertainty across the world and everyone is feeling the strain in some form or another.
Therapy is one industry that has grown during the pandemic and due to this, there has been an increase in searches for those looking for information on how to become a therapist. With increasing numbers of redundancies across the USA tenfold. As more people are looking for a career change and an emphasis on helping other people in 2021, becoming a therapist seems to be a popular choice for those looking for more stability and security within their working life.
Why Is Demand For Therapy Increasing?
As mentioned above, major elements of daily living are being impacted due to COVID-19. Of course, there are huge factors such as a loss of income and struggling to pay bills, financial worries will inevitably lead to diminishing mental health. However, a study from RTT has delved deeper into why people are being impacted.
Social isolation and loneliness are on the rise and for those who are used to a busy, bustling social life, suddenly being isolated from not just friends and family but also colleagues daily can be incredibly detrimental to the human mind. Even those most introverted people need human contact now and then and with this unable to occur for many months and no definitive end date, it can cause mental health issues.
It hasn’t just been COVID-19 related events this year that have impacted mental health. The killing of George Floyd highlighted institutional racism within the system and led to increasing numbers experiencing anxiety, stress and depression.
More People Are Wanting To Become Therapists
There are many reasons as to why people would want to become a therapist but there have been previous barriers that have been eradicated or reduced in 2020. Firstly, the idea of a career change can be daunting to many, the thought of leaving a role that you are comfortable in, even if not satisfied, can be incredibly scary to many.
Job loss has forced many people to have to re-think their career paths and make that all-important change and by witnessing the growth of the industry, there is no wonder that many people are choosing this as a new, rewarding career.
Location is often a barrier to many if their local college or other education provider does not offer the right course for them, they are often bound by their current location because of family or other commitments.
However, not that the majority of learning has moved online, students can opt for any college, no matter the location and many are offering permanent online courses after witnessing successful lessons and feedback in 2020, something that was previously seen as inadequate for learners.
Another reason for some to not become therapists is simply the hours and the possibility of having to be on-call for any patients who experience an emergency. Most therapists have continued their services throughout 2020, but on digital platforms with virtual sessions, mainly while working from home. This has been successful for many patients and their therapists and could be the new way of getting mental health aid in the future.
Being able to work from home on a potentially permanent basis, even if only part-time, opens up a new world of possibilities for those with home commitments, such as child care. Parents are now able to perfect that work-life balance without having to compromise on either.
Other Forms of Online Mental Health Help
Technology does shape how we live and how we look after our mental health is no different. Mental health apps have been around for years but 2020 has seen a huge rise in demand for them.
In fact, the three most popular apps, Headspace, Better Help and Calm, have seen an increase in searches of almost 100% compared to 2019, signalling a huge rise in the number of people recognising their struggles and needing to find help.
It must be stressed that these apps are not to be seen as a replacement for therapy. They do not have the intelligence to tailor programmes to cater for specific mental health conditions and should always be seen as a supplement to therapy.
“Our work as psychologists is to help people look at their minds. There are so many mental health apps out there, but they have a short-term effect if people don’t look at their minds and their ingrained beliefs.”- Yasmine Saad, Ph.D. (Psychiatrist).
However, they are providing some respite to many until they can arrange therapy sessions or to be used in conjunction with their therapy sessions to help in between these meetings and it seems that these apps are working.
Headspace gained over 6000 app reviews in the app store throughout the study by RTT, analysis of these reviews showed the mass of users had chosen to download it due to COVID related issues and almost all of these users showed a positive impression of the application.
Providing a sense of routine, a guide to feel more centred and even meditation help and best practices for better sleep routines are helping the public throughout this crisis handle the situation better and cope with the mental anguish.
When To Seek A Therapist
There is no condition ‘too small’ when it comes to getting professional help and it isn’t uncommon for a seemingly small case of mental health issues to snowball into something life-altering.
If an individual is not feeling well mentally, they should reach out as soon as possible to a professional, the sooner this is done, the higher the chances are they will be able to quickly and ways to cope, instead of spiralling into a major disorder, which can lead to even more mental health problems.
