With our complicated lives, any of us may find the need for support
and assistance in some area of life.
It may be called “psychotherapy”, “counseling”, “therapy”, or
“coaching” but entering into a therapeutic alliance with a trained
professional to achieve specific goals of life change is a unique
process.
 Many people are reluctant to contact a therapist believing they
should be able to solve life’s problems without help.
That is just not true.
All of us, in our fast paced, highly stressful society, have
hard times. None of us
can be expected to automatically have all the coping skills we need.
Therapy helps people develop skills they have not yet had a
chance to develop.
If sadness, depression, or anxiety is interfering with daily life
and impacting sleep, appetite, work performance and relationships,
therapy can be immensely helpful.
While everyone experiences emotional pain at times, if the
distress is particularly severe or persistent, professional help
should be considered.
Therapy is also helpful with personal growth and self-improvement.
An objective trained professional can help a person identify
and overcome obstacles that interfere with reaching goals and help
in the learning of how to live life with deeper personal
satisfaction. Therapy
can help to acquire or strengthen skills to improve any area of
life.
Relationships can improve greatly with therapy.
By identifying core conflicts and working to develop better
communication skills, issues can be better understood and resolved.
Couples therapy can give a troubled relationship on the brink
of divorce a second chance.
Therapy is also helpful with issues of loss, trauma, or
abuse. Therapy can
provide a safe, confidential place to process complicated feelings
and learn how to heal and resolve overwhelming issues.
Psychotherapy is not easy to describe.
It varies depending on the particular problems that the
clients bring, the training of the therapist, and the personalities
of the clients and the therapist.
Unlike a visit to a medical doctor, psychotherapy requires
work on your part. In
order to be successful, you will have to put a lot of effort into
each appointment and the time in between appointments.
Therapy has both benefits and risks.
Research has shown that two-thirds to three-quarters of
clients find their therapy quite helpful.
Psychotherapy often leads to a significant reduction of
distress, better relationships, and resolution of specific problems.
The risks of psychotherapy include feelings of frustration,
fear, anger, and sadness.
You may have to talk about things that are difficult to
discuss. Psychotherapy
will also probably involve making some changes in your habitual ways
of doing things – and this may feel difficult at first.
Your therapy may involve recalling unpleasant aspects of your
life and life history.
Also, you may develop new insights into yourself and others that may
initially feel uncomfortable.
|
