Ok, I know there are a lot of thoughts around when to seek a professional therapist. People always want to know how they know if they need therapy. I’ll start with the obvious… if you are asking this question, you probably would benefit from therapy! That seems like a pretty simple answer but honestly, if you are wondering if you need to talk to someone, you do. The next thing I’ll say is there is absolutely NO SHAME in seeking professional help. I’ll say that again- there is no shame in seeking professional help. Therapists are trained in a variety of ways to help you live a happy, healthy life. We are able to help those suffering from pervasive mental illness (usually in collaboration with a psychiatrist for more severe diagnoses) to depression and anxiety as well as processing childhood trauma or managing daily stress.
There was a time when therapy was stigmatized as if you sought it, you must be “crazy.” This is no longer the case. Therapy isn’t just for the mentally ill, it’s for anyone who could benefit from self-betterment. While we will process emotions and work through traumas and issues, we will also work to learn skills to help you be able to regulate emotion. My favorite part of therapy is teaching coping skills. Most therapy modalities have their own skills, but they all are meant to achieve the same outcome- process difficult emotion, reduce reactivity to that emotion, and improve communication skills while increasing emotional maturity. Who doesn’t want to tap into that?! Most of us, yes even therapists, could use some help in this department! Once they are taught, practice is necessary for them to become default. This is easier said than done. I prefer to use Dialectical Behavior Therapy. I will be doing a deep dive into this on my Instagram soon @happyplacetherapy but the 4 main categories are mindfulness, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and distress tolerance. The skills within each category are life changing.
If you are interested in the ways that therapy could help you, reach out today! If you are in Texas, I can help you in person or online. Otherwise, you can use Psychology Today to locate a therapist near year.
