What is therapy?
Mental health therapy (also known as counseling) are forms of treatment intended to heal or relieve a disorder. For many, counseling can help better understand the intricate details of a certain problem or stressful situation.
Focus begins on an individual level, explores current patterns of behavior and then helps expand the awareness of a given situation by exploring options while providing education on addressing the situation.
What is taught in therapy?
How does one understand something they can not see? It is easy to see our physical scars or injuries as we can point to the location on our body. However, mental or emotional damage/stress is harder to identify; mainly because we may not know the signs or indications of it having happened. Sometimes we don’t even know we are struggling till other areas in our life become compromised.
Therapy (counseling) helps clients become more aware of the signs our bodies/sensations give us when things break down or go ary. Some things which can be learned in counseling are:
Emotional regulation (being able to control what we do with our feelings)
Mindfulness (becoming aware of our body and how we respond to sensations/perceptions)
Communication (how we tell others when we are struggling; what we say)
Coping skills (putting action into our lives when things go ary)
Behavior modification (changing our unhelpful behaviors)
Trauma (helping to navigate healing after surviving a horrible experience)
Family dynamics (re-establishing connection to our family unit)
Irrational thought patterns (thoughts which are not based in reality, or assumptions)
Feelings (being able to identify the different types of feelings, and how they affect our body sensations)
Supports (identifying what a supporter is and creating those connections)
Safety (creating plans to help with our well being and when in crisis)
Many many more...
What is therapy like?
Mental health therapy usually starts off with scheduling an appointment to meet with a counselor for the first time. Usually the beginning involves getting to know the counselor and visa-versa through a series of questions directed at learning more about your life and catching up to the present.
The concept of counseling is odd if one stops to think about it; going to a stranger and sharing experiences and or vulnerabilities as if it is completely normal. Being asked so many questions can feel overwhelming, and its important to know you do not have to answer any question which makes you feel uncomfortable or you simply don’t want to answer. The goal is not to keep you in an uncomfortable environment, rather to help understand your perspective and situation.
In short, counseling is increasing awareness of our lives and what we want or can change.
After the first session, your therapist will talk to you about goal formation and some of the techniques which can be used to help you obtain the goals discussed. Sessions from there on out can be weekly, twice a week or twice a month depending on your preference and severity of symptoms.