The Benefits of Therapy
Are you curious about starting counselling? Are you a bit hesitant? Most people feel nervous before starting something new.
We want to make it easier for you to decide whether this is the right time for you to start therapy. So, we designed a tool to help you understand and explore the benefits of gaining counselling support. Take a look!
1. Self Reflection
Firstly, you can start therapy to help you reflect. A therapist does not provide advice – we want to make sure we do not take your power away from you. We ensure that you have full control over your life decisions. Therapists ask you deeper questions to help you understand: what your intentions are, what your values are, and help you with the decision-making process.
Moreover, mental health practitioners reflect your thoughts, feelings and emotions so that you can make more intentional moves in life. You can show up authentically. We may not have the space to reflect or we aren’t aware of the right questions to ask ourselves. Clinical counsellors are trained professionals to help you do just that!
2. Process Emotions
Have you ever wondered why you feel the way you do? Why do your emotions feel bigger? Clinical counsellors understand the importance of processing emotions. For example, our experiences from the past may not be processed. So, our emotions from the past continue to come up in the present, especially when our bodies are reminded of something in past. It can feel challenging to manage the emotion or reaction.
In addition, counsellors want to support you with building a relationship with your emotions to improve your quality of life. We also understand that avoiding our emotions means that we are not dealing with our emotions – they continue to live in our bodies. For example, new research shows that the more you avoid your emotions, the more they eat up at your body. The effects increase the chance of physical disease. When we work on our mental health, we are also working on our physical health too. We can prevent the onset of other diseases and disorders by processing our emotions.
3. Process Trauma
You can experience trauma when you experience an interrupted survival response. The way we respond to our present life and can change the way we think can be impacted by not processing the uninterrupted response. For instance, you can experience a trauma response when there is any threat to your physical, emotional, mental, sexual and spiritual safety. We can experience harm when our body interrupts the survival response. You can complete your trauma response in therapy when you feel your emotions. A professional can support you with overcoming the response.
You are not alone and nor do you have to process your trauma alone. A clinical counsellor is trained to build safety and trust with you to start the process. They can help you unpack your experiences and help you work through any trauma that might be affecting your quality of life.
4. Learn New Skills
We don’t know what we don’t know. Fortunately, clinical counsellors spend over 6 years in post secondary education and have specific knowledge about counselling and psychology. They make sure that they are up-to-date with all the new information and research out there. A counsellor can give you the skills you need to: overcome obstacles, build healthy relationships, develop healthy communication and conflict resolution skills, boundary setting skills, and help you build skills to overcome stress.
Hopefully our blog helps you understand some of the many benefits of going to therapy! Each counsellor is different. Their approach will be different too. Remember that you can book a consultation with a therapist of your choice to learn whether they are a good fit for you. Please remember to ask questions that you feel you need the answers to before you start counselling with them.
Are you ready to book an appointment with a counsellor? Most counsellors offer free consultations. You can click on the title of our blog entry called “Free 15 Minute Consultations” to learn about what to expect during a consultation.
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