Welcome back to savvy psychologist. I'm Dr. Ellen Hendrickson and I'll help you meet

life's challenges with evidence-based research, a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment.

A poll by the American Psychological Association found that in the past year, in 48% of American households, so that is almost half, someone sought out mental health

care.

And indeed, in the past few years, seen a psychologist, psychiatrist, or counselor has become an increasingly common and even typical experience.

So whether you are a therapy regular, therapy curious, or a therapist yourself.

It is fascinating to think about what happens in the therapy room

and how it has such an impact.

So for example, a listener of the podcast, a young man seeing a counselor at his college recently wrote in and asked why does

therapy work and it is a great question because it seems like such a black box

excuse me question because it seems like such a black box.

Excuse me.

And it's a great question because it seems like such a black box.

You put two people talking in a room for an hour a week

into one side of the equation and out the other

side comes better mental health and greater happiness and confidence.

It seems like a mystery.

So what exactly is happening in that room? Well this week's guest

Lori Gottlieb can help us with the answer because she has a rich experience from

both sides of the couch. She's a psychotherapist and New York Times best-selling

author who writes the weekly Dear Therapist advice column for The Atlantic,

where she's also a contributing editor. She's also written for the New York Times magazine and has appeared on

...