February 24, 2026 
5 Min 
No Comment 
It is time to celebrate the fact that we have become open to considering and trying therapy for a more fulfilling life. From pursuing mental health therapy to seeking support for speech and language problems, more of us are taking charge.
Statista reports that around 60 million US adults received treatment or counseling for mental health in 2023-2024. The stigma surrounding ‘counseling’ has reduced overall, and access to such services has improved. In line with these changing trends, therapists must also reevaluate their existing skills and update them for greater relevance and efficacy.
Here are three areas that need a close re-examination for counseling and therapy to help people optimally.
1. A Lifespan View Over a Life Stage One
It is a common belief that some problems are characteristic of a life stage, such as clumsiness in toddlers or fatigue in older adults. This belief leads many to assume that life-stage problems can only be managed, not resolved. It also follows that facing challenges that don’t align with one’s present age or lifestyle is stigmatizing.
A present-day counselor must transform this conventional way of thinking. Therapy in today’s age takes on a much wider, lifespan-driven view.
For instance, as a speech-language pathologist, you may work with adult clients who have lost the ability to communicate or swallow after an injury or illness. Not all language difficulties begin in or stay limited to childhood.
Accordingly, a speech therapy career path may expose you to varied roles, from early intervention to clinical health settings and research-based academic positions involving people of all age groups.
According to Ithaca College, practitioners in this field also benefit from empathy and patience. A willingness to view the practice from a whole-life approach can help them support clients with age-appropriate skills, like cognitive, social-emotional, and adaptive.
2. Openness to Digital, Not Always In-Person, Sessions
If you have been practicing in this field for a while, you’ll know how ‘in-person only’ used to be a big requirement for therapy. No discussions via phone calls or video meetings.
Partially, it may have stemmed from the belief that face-to-face meetings allow patients to be honest and clear in their interactions. It also limits the possibility of misunderstandings or confusion regarding drug prescriptions, which need additional care in the mental healthcare field.
Today, of course, the field looks completely different. Teletherapy is already widely common, and many therapists communicate with their clients through Zoom meetings.
The American Psychological Association notes that digital therapeutics can benefit many people, especially when combined with human support. It can be life-changing for underserved communities, who may face language and social barriers in accessing care.
Practitioners can benefit from getting up to speed with the skills needed for delivering therapy through non-conventional channels, such as text and video.
Anyhow, we need more alert professionals to protect vulnerable communities from inappropriate responses offered by some ‘AI therapists,’ like the controversial Replika that may have pushed people closer to self-harm.
3. Inter-Team Collaboration, Without Mental Health Silos
How often has popular culture attributed erratic behavior to bipolar disorder, even undiagnosed, ignoring other factors in the immediate environment? Depression, anxiety, and even OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) have become so ingrained in standard conversation that their clinical meaning has become diluted. They have also become larger-than-life concerns, leading many practitioners to focus on them at the cost of somatic or circumstantial factors.
A crucial skill for contemporary therapy and counseling professionals is collaboration with other medical teams. From a gastroenterologist who has input on the gut-brain axis to a chiropractor working with a patient who experiences chronic pain, multiple experts can weigh in on an individual’s wellness.
In fact, somatic therapy has now become popular, with more professionals appreciating the role of somatic symptoms in psychoanalysis. This approach expands the traditional definition of talk therapy to studying transference and countertransference interactions between the therapist and their client. The former must understand how to read body language, altered breathing patterns, and other cues that speak when words don’t.
As you learn to practice these evolving modes of therapy, consider seeking multiple viewpoints to avoid becoming myopic. Yes, it may require an additional push to work smoothly with other professionals, especially in the face of conflict or disagreement. But patient-centric and evidence-backed care cannot prevail on paper alone.
The Takeaway
Continuous learning, while necessary across sectors, is of immense importance in human-centric professions, such as therapy. One expects their counselors to be support systems, helping them address problems that impact their quality of life. Practitioners who remain stuck in old, outdated ways will do their clients a disservice.
Adopting a comprehensive, lifespan view of mental and physical health concerns and collaborating with experts to improve patient outcomes will be essential. Embracing technology to further the accessibility of care will also be mandatory for professionals who wish to remain relevant.