Therapy may be for you if…
If you’re reading this, chances are that you’re going through some hardships — and you’re really starting to notice how it’s affecting your mental health.
And, you've likely noticed how the struggle of balancing your mental wellbeing while trying to just live in this chaotic world can often be difficult and overwhelming — especially when you’re not even sure on what to do about it all.
Which brings us to this whole therapy thing.
Therapy (also known as psychotherapy) refers to various mental health treatment approaches done by us trained psychotherapists to help treat and manage mental health conditions that negatively impact thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in ways that prevent people from living a functional and meaningful life. You might have heard about how psychotherapy has helped others struggling. Maybe someone in your life, whether it be your family, friends, spouse, or even your doctor or some other wellness professional has suggested it to you recently, recognizing the significant struggles you're facing that many others may have experienced as well.
And yet, you remain unsure if it's for you — or if if is for you, what are the next steps for you to get started.
As a psychotherapist who is passionate about helping those struggling significantly in life help get reconnected to a sense of joy and hope again in this suffering-filled world, here are some points I recommend for you to consider and ask yourself, especially if any of the above resonates with you and what you're going through right now — and hopefully, this post will help you consider if trying out therapy is the right direction for you!
Psychotherapy might be for you if:
All of your emotions feel way too big and difficult for you to experience and navigate alone.
Maybe you find your worries too difficult to manage, your mind constantly being hijacked with various "whats-ifs" that not only distract you from being in the moment and avoiding necessary/desires tasks, but also stress your body out by way of tense muscles, heart palpitations, sweaty palms, grit teeth and tension headaches — in at it's worst, panic attacks.
Or, you find yourself in a low mood often, feeling down and lethargic and unmotivated to do tasks that are either needed or meaningful because the heaviness of whatever it is causing it often feels like too much to even try fighting. Sometimes, whatever is it shows up by way of negative self-talk or hopeless thoughts about the world — and other times, there may not even be a clear source at all…but what you do know is the emptiness takes you away from truly living in a way you would have once perhaps preferred to live.
There's significant emotional pain and trauma that you've experienced over time, and You’ve never allowed yourself to process it all - but you're noticing the effects of your experiences catch up to you.
Similar to the point above, the pains of the past hav a way of showing up in ways that you even surprise you — whether it's triggers of unwanted memories showing up at the most random or inconvenient moments, taking you back to a place that was scary and out of control, nightmares about events that happened impacting your ability to sleep, or just one negative life experience after another leading you to form a lense of how the world works that often has lead you feeling resentful, jaded, and/or scared…and you're noticing that this is often showing up negatively in your romantic relationships, friendships, family connections, workplace, and even in you pursuing meaningful dreams and hopes because you don't want to be hurt and disappointed again.
You're going through a rough season and need someone to talk to
Maybe there isn't one focus of struggle that's more important than another, but situational things have come up in life that have significantly impacted you in some way — and the jumbled-upness of it all is too overwhelming, perhaps even too painful, for you to know where to begin, but you know that something needs to be done to fit those jumbled up pieces back to it's place again.
There's big transitional changes for you, and you need to talk through it with someone in a more objective manner.
Maybe it's a career change, relationship conflict or loss, new relational role (spouse, parent, adult parent's dependent), a move to a completely different environment, lifestyle change…these possibilities aren't even a fraction of the many transitional changes that happen in some many people's life's, yet it's a fact that many changes come with many choices and considerations that are to be made, and you need someone to help process this with you and figure out things that you need best for yourself as you take the step to directly face those choices to be made.
You' ve suspected you have a mental heath disorder for a while, and are wanting assessment to finally check if this is the case.
Sometimes, it feels important for us to put a name to what it is that we've been experiencing. There's so much validity to this, as being fully informed gives a sense of closure to the mystery and can further guide you and your mental healthcare provider to a treatment shown to be effective for whatever condition that may be relevant to your experience, leading to you being most likely to have a helpful psychotherapy treatment and improved quality of life.
You've tried just about everything else to distract yourself from the pain but, inevitably, those distractions don't work.
Let's be real - when it comes to resolving pain and discomfort, we often times go to what's convenient - and we often times end up adding convenince and quick fixes under that convenience umbrella. Whether that's numbing yourself with temporary distractions, substances, food, risky yet stimulating decisions, or other forms of avoidance to protect yourself from whatever it is that is hurting you. But ultimately, these temporary reliefs are just that — unlasting. And before you know it, the pain you've been trying to avoid not only arrives again, but maybe somehow feels worse, scarier, and more hopeless to resolve.
So, if you're going through any of the above and you think therapy might be it for you, or at least worth trying — what are the next steps?
Do your research — what therapist would be the best fit?
The relationship you have with your therapist is one of the mot important factors to theray being effective — so for you, what do you think are importantg factors to fostering a sense of connection and understanding? Are demographics such as gender, ethnicity and age group important fot you? Would you prefer something in person in your community, or is telehealth an acceptable and more convenient form for you? Is amount of years of experience more important than the therapist's focus and niches? Ask yourself these questions as you do your research!
Consider your budget willingness (including whether you're willing to go the private pay route or plan to rely mostly on your insurance provider, if applicable). Also, consider your schedule — are you looking to meet on weekends, weekdays, or are you open to either? What will make you most consistent?
Pick three therapists of interest of you and, based on your research, reach out.
Most therapists may have up to three business days callback time if you leave a message. But in the chance that you don't hear back within a week,
Ask as many questions as you need! Making informed choices abut your healthcare (because yes, mental health is healthcare) and knowing you have the right to clarify whatever it is that you need one of the most empowering things people can do for themselves. Whether that you wanting to ask about the process, the therapist's qualifications and way their practice is set up, their fees and other expectations, whatever! Taking all these things into consideraation and making an informed choice can once again narrow down best fits for yourself — especially considering that therpeautic relationship is one of most important factors that make psychotherapy effective.
I hope this was a helpful guide for your consideration! If you want further information on why therapy is an often-effective tool for overcoming disruptive mental health concerns, check out a bit more points here.
And, if you've decided to go ahead and take the first (and big) step to utilizing psychotherapy to help take care your mental well-being, congratulations!
If you happen to live in the states of California or Ohio, I (Briana Gonzalez, LCSW/LISW) am currently accepting adult clients ready to start their psychotherapy journey via telehealth, and would love to schedule a free 15-minute consultation with you to hear about your specific struggle, talk through some of the questions you have, and tell you more about how I best help support people struggling with anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, significant and unprocessed emotional pain and trauma, and those struggling with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) utilizing evidenced-based psychotherapy methods so you can determine if I might be the best fit for your healing journey.
