Topic: My speech pursues the goal of convincing more people to go to therapy, as mental health awareness, although gaining recognition worldwide, remains an issue for average American citizens who see therapy as a weakness and a luxury for the upper-middle class.
General Purpose: To persuade the audience.
Specific Purpose: I want my audience to be persuaded that therapy, in the modern context, should not be abandoned or ignored. For this reason, I will resonate with the recipients by telling them how therapy can improve their daily lives and their perception of life in the long-term perspective.
Introduction
Attention-Getting Device: Does it ever seem to you that the stress of everyday life is just unbearable, and there is nobody to listen to and understand because everyone deals with their issues? Luckily, the growing popularity of therapy and mental health counseling has now become a solution!
Relevance to the audience: With everything going on in the world, including global pandemics, wars, and inequality, just scrolling through the newsfeed can become a traumatizing experience for a person. A few years ago, every fifth US resident experienced a certain sort of mental health issue, and this statistic is unlikely to decrease anytime soon (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
Thesis: Despite the fact that many people are aware of the perks of mental health counseling, nearly 47% of Americans perceive therapy as a sign of weakness (Robinson). However, if anything, seeking therapy is a demonstration of strength, as it gives you the opportunity to find a sense of self-worth and build a better future for yourself.
Body
Main Point: Addressing psychotherapy is a sign of strength that provides a person with valuable insights into their lives and their personality. While many people see therapy as a weakness and the inability to deal with one’s problems without assistance, resorting to counseling takes more courage than trying to save face.
- Support: While people tend to label therapy seekers as “weak,” the truth is that people’s avoidant behavior is significantly weaker because they block the ways to experience negative emotions and relive the challenging experience (Brenner et al. 132). The researchers indicate that people with self-stigma have difficulties with help-seeking intentions because they are afraid of judgment.
- Support: Going to therapy, however beneficial, requires much strength mainly because the first step toward healing is acknowledging the problem. The scholars emphasize that, unlike medications, therapy is a journey that requires awareness and acceptance of the change to heal from stress and trauma (Perrotta). Hence, instead of continuing to judge people who go to therapy, it may be the right time to ask yourself how prepared you are to face and deal with your demons.
- Support: While therapy is seemingly associated with weakness, more women seek counseling, and men are generally discouraged from therapy by society. However, men still suffer from a series of mental health issues, including abuse in intimate relationships (Lysova et al.). For this reason, acknowledging your flaws and issues is the first step toward breaking a vicious cycle of psychological challenges.
Main Point: Besides manifesting enough strength to change your life, therapy has a series of beneficial long-term implications, including lower risk of chronic diseases, higher life satisfaction rates, and better social adjustment.
- Support: Mental health issues commonly lead to various alterations in lifestyle, including low physical activity rates, substance abuse, and unhealthy habits like compulsive eating or smoking. As a result, people with mental health issues are at higher risk of developing chronic diseases like diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and others (Canadian Mental Health Association). Timely intervention, however, can prevent these risks by improving both your physical and mental health.
- Support: Addressing mental health is an important step on the way to securing higher life satisfaction rates. According to the research, there are many predictors of life satisfaction that include mainly financial well-being, social support, high standards of living, and education. These aspects, in their turn, rely heavily on the person’s mental readiness to take care of their future and invest in their well-being. Hence, investing in mental health and counseling will inevitably help you find resources to build a brighter future for yourself and the ones who surround you.
- Support: Everything that is happening in the world over the last few years has taken a toll on people’s lives, as many people struggle with financial hardships, COVID-19 complications, and discrimination. For this reason, it is of paramount importance to define the coping mechanisms to become socially adjusted to such a challenging environment. Therapy is a way to share your concerns out loud and, together with a qualified counselor, develop a roadmap of possible actions to improve the situation and feel more secure.
Conclusion
Review/reinforce the main idea: In brief, while therapy has become a widespread social phenomenon and mental health awareness is a topic raised on a regular basis, many of us are still paralyzed by the thought of sharing our concerns with a stranger. However, today, seeking mental health counseling is not only perceived as a major strength, but it as well guarantees many positive changes in your life.
Provide a Sense of closure: I hope that my speech has encouraged at least one of you to consider therapy as an option to build a better life for yourself and your surroundings. Today is always the best day to start a change for the best, and therapy is one of the most beneficial ways to do it!
Works Cited
Brenner, Rachel E., et al. “Seeking Help Despite the Stigma: Experiential Avoidance as a Moderated Mediator.” Journal of Counseling Psychology, vol. 67, no. 1, 2020, pp. 132-140.
Canadian Mental Health Association. “The Relationship between Mental Health, Mental Illness and Chronic Physical Conditions.” CMHA, n.d., Web.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Mental Health Treatment Among Adults: United States.” CDC, Web.
Lysova, Alexandra, et al. “Internal and External Barriers to Help-Seeking: Voices of Men Who Experienced Abuse in the Intimate Relationships.” International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, vol. 66, no. 5, 2022, pp. 538-559.
Perrotta, Giulio. “Accepting “Change” in Psychotherapy: From Consciousness to Awareness.” Journal of Addiction Research and Adolescent Behaviour, vol. 3, no. 1, 2020, pp. 1-8.
Robinson, Bryan. “47% of Americans Believe Seeking Therapy Is a Sign of Weakness.” Forbes, Web.