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I want to address a topic that is insanely controversial (see what I did there? Heh): THERAPY! The are two major schools of thought when it comes to therapy: therapy is for crazy people + therapy can be useful when you have a rough life. Now I understand everyone doesn't believe those statements. However, the majority of the population believes one or the other. If you're in one of those categories - this post is for you!
The thought of therapy can be intimidating, but going to therapy can be rewarding if you follow the professional's advice. Many people who have tried therapy say, "Therapy doesn't work." There are a couple of reasons they may feel this way: #1 Perhaps the therapist wasn't a good fit. #2 Perhaps you weren't fully invested in therapy. #3 If you tried couples therapy, perhaps it would have been better for you to try therapy alone first. #4 Perhaps the interventions used didn't work well for you. For example, you may not be much of a "talker" so typical talk therapy is a drag VS. art therapy where your art speaks volumes and truly heals you! It could be any number of reasons why therapy may not have "worked" for you. Allow me to present you with 20 reasons to try therapy again! Here we go...
20| Venting!
Therapy is a great place to vent off frustrations + dark thoughts without fear of judgment! I tell parents of teens I counsel that a lot of times there are ugly thoughts + feelings that are most often harmless - yet need to be explored (and worked through) freely before change can take place.
19| Feel Better Now
Perhaps you struggle with loving yourself and have no clue where to start loving yourself. Therapy is a great place to explore the root of those feelings + then learn how to sort out what's real, what's not as important + managing those feelings.
18| Neutral Party
Similar to venting, we all need a neutral party to talk to about various things. Tip: Your mom doesn't count! =)
17| Inspiration
Therapy can inspire you to dig deep within yourself + discover things you never knew existed! Because therapists play a neutral role, we get to see all the wonderful, untapped potential + we try our absolute best to push you towards that beautiful person we see -- even when it hurts to get you there!
16|Transitions
Therapy is helpful for transitions in life, such as a high school student starting college. You may want to seek counseling after a divorce. Many people believe that if the divorce didn't get "nasty" they don't need counseling. Therapy at any transition can be beneficial.
15| Tough Times
Many people seek therapy during tough times. Tough times could be the divorce that ended up getting "nasty" it could be after experiencing trauma or it could be after losing a loved one. Learning to live beyond these experiences can be difficult. It can be helpful to think of therapy as a reinforcement.
14| Character Development
You already consider yourself a nice person + most people who meet you agree. However, you are TOO nice so you get taken advantage of easily. Therapy can teach you to be assertive! Oh you didn't know classes on assertiveness existed? Click here + here to see a few options. Or you could just Google classes in your area.
13| Challenge!
Ok so maybe you're opposite of the statement above. You have been noticing that you need an attitude adjustment, but you're not sure how to do it. Or you wouldn't dare break down in front of anyone to admit that you need help. Therapy will challenge you to step outside of your comfort zone + push your buttons in ways you have never imagined! I don't say this to scare you - being challenged is a good thing! It forces you to address why you believe what you believe/do what you do.
12| Growth
Similar to challenging your character, therapy can help you to grow as a person. While there are portions of therapy that will be challenging, there will also be parts of therapy that will be so rewarding!
11| Learn How to Talk!
Do you struggle having peaceful conversations? Do many of your statements offend those around you? Therapy can help you to #1 unpack why this is happening and #2 learn how to have effective conversations.
10| Understand Your Spouse.
This is one of the benefits of therapy many people overlook. It is so simple yet complex. Most people go to therapy for the other person to be fixed without considering we need some fixing ourselves!
9| Understand Your Kids.
Whew! Is this ever a possibility? Yes! Is therapy the cure all? No! Will therapy help you improve the overall health of your relationship? Yes! Understanding in relationships involves vulnerability + an agreement for genuine love (see periscope on genuine love) + respect to be given. It will take some time to get to that point if your relationship is in a broken state, but it's possible!
8| Understand Your Parents.
See #9
7| Coping Skills
All of these changes I've been sharing with you sound really great I'm sure, but they mean nothing if you don't know how to maintain. Adults tend to think coping skills are aimed primarily at children, but they are wrong. Coping skills help us to hold our tongue when it's 4:58 pm + our boss asks us to do something that we know will take 30 minutes! #adultingishard
CLICK TO TWEET | @seidafthc I completely agree that #adultingishard
6| Discover Your Strength!
What if I told you there are people who are inspired by your life? What if I told you someone sees strength in you? Maybe you struggle to figure out your strengths on your own. One way therapy can help you is by reframing various events in your life to point out your strength!
5| Feel Empowered
When is the last time you felt powerful? Beautiful? Courageous? Brave? Strong enough to love others boldly? Yup, therapy can help you get there if you are able to stick with the process. When you are first starting counseling, it won't be fun or exciting - but it is so exciting when you have reached a level of personal empowerment!
4| Learn Who You Are
Self-discovery is the most crucial element of counseling, because it determines how you view the world. Much of your success in therapy is tied to understanding who you are. For example, if you are perceive as a negative person 95% of the time people talk to you, but you don't see yourself like that - this is where the work has to start in therapy. However, if you're perceived as a negative person, you know you are a negative person + you want to change it - well that my friend is a different starting point. See what I mean?
3| Overall Mental Wellness
Mental health is so important! There is a very thin line between sanity + insanity! I believe any one of us could cross this line without the proper support in place. People need people. Period.
2| Change Your Life
You might have reached a point in your life where you want to live completely different than you have. You want to make a drastic change like in #12, #13 + #16! Therapy can help!
1| What's normal anyway?
BREAK THE STIGMA!!! You define your own normalcy! What's normal in your house might be completely weird in mine! What's acceptable in your culture might be totally frowned upon in my culture! Follow me? I've never been a fan of Keeping Up With the Joneses, because you know what? The Joneses have probably been to therapy too! They just won't show you that part of their life!
Have I convinced you that therapy is normal? There are so many other things that could have gone on this list! Have an idea of that's not listed here? Add it to the comments or tweet me!
