Do I Need Therapy?
If psychotherapy is new to you, you might be wondering how and why it can be effective. People often think that you need to experience significant events in order to seek therapy, but there are various reasons and each of them are valid! In my experience, by the time most clients finally seek therapy, they are at their wits’ end. Whether it’s because of severe depression/anxiety, trauma, relationship difficulties, or simply to understand yourself better, therapy can be enlightening and effective.
Therapy allows a client to be able to express him or herself without any judgment. Many times, clients tell us that they have friends and family to speak with so they don’t need therapy. While it’s important to have that support, friends and family may struggle being completely impartial and/or hearing what you’re feeling. You might worry that you’ll lose a friendship if you tell them how much their lack of punctuality bothers you or that it doesn’t feel like they make as much effort in the relationship as you. In the therapeutic space, you have the opportunity to express your raw emotions and find healthier ways of expressing your needs to people in your life.
Through the therapy journey, you can gain a deeper understanding of your childhood experiences and how they impact you today. Therapists have the ability to help you connect certain patterns and behaviors, even those that you might not think are big or important, so that you can have more positive interactions and relationships. For example, growing up in a neglectful or inconsistent environment can be harmful to one’s self-esteem and self-worth, which could lead to a variety of issues. Even if your symptoms don’t appear until years later, therapy can allow you to examine how your previous environment plays a role in your current difficulties.
When you’re dealing with emotional or interpersonal challenges, it can begin to impact other areas of your life, such as work or school. In therapy, you can find adaptive coping skills or self-care activities to help you navigate these challenges. With greater awareness, you can evaluate which coping skills are best fitted for you, whether it is mindfulness based practices, setting boundaries, or increasing physical activities. Due to our hectic life, especially with work, we ignore how important self-care is to our functioning. We need time for ourselves, even if it is as simple as taking a bath, going for a walk, or making time for our medical/mental health appointments.
I know therapy can be emotionally draining, especially when it’s new to you, and it feels so much easier to believe that the problem will just go away if you don’t think about it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way. Above were just a few examples of how therapy can be useful, but everyone can benefit from it in their own way. If you’re considering mental health services, know that you don’t need a “serious” reason to start! Schedule your free 10-minute phone consultation by filling out the contact form if you have more questions or are interested in taking the first (and most important) step in your journey.
Dr. Anuja Patel