5 Reasons to go to Therapy

So often I hear people telling me “I'm fine,”  “It will blow over,”  “I'm stressed,” etc. yet when I encourage them to think about attending counseling, they respond with, “I don't need therapy!”  I often respond back with the analogy of a patient who breaks his leg doesn't just say “Oh well, I have a broken leg.”  The patient goes to the doctor immediately to have it assessed and treated.  Counseling is the assessment and treatment for any mental health issue, regardless of how big or small.  For whatever reason, therapy seems to have a black cloud over its' head.  In fact, mental health, in general, has a black cloud surrounding it.  People want to avoid counseling and mental health issues like the plague, pretending that the presenting issue is non-existent!

I think it's important for people to start seeing past the clouds to the potential benefits of counseling. Counseling can help all sorts of people, including “normal” people, thrive and become more productive, engaged, happier, and healthier humans.  Here are 5 reasons I believe anyone can benefit from counseling:

1. Self-care: In today's fast-paced world we never take time out to ourselves.  The therapy hour is a wonderful, personalized setting where we have 50 minutes to focus on our needs, goals, desires, and anything else we want to focus on.
2. Nonjudgmental, safe environment:  The therapy setting is one free from judgement and bias where what we share is confidential.  Counselors are specifically trained in techniques to make sure clients feel welcomed, comfortable, and free to share any information within the session.
3. Life skills and techniques:  Counseling can help to improve our coping and life skills or teach us new skills.  These skills can help us learn new behaviors to help us in all aspects of our lives including work, community, family, and friendship settings.
4. Discover personal strengths:  Although counseling can help us see our blind-spots, counseling can also help us recognize our strengths.  Through validation of strengths and assessment of strengths, we can find new ways to incorporate these strengths in different components of our lives.
5. Problem solving:  Counseling allows for us to problem solve in new, different ways on various issues, whether the issues are short-term or long-term.  Counseling gives clients tools and clarity to manage problems more effectively.

I could probably keep the list going, but through these 5 reasons I hope you can start to think about counseling in a new light and see that counseling can truly benefit any individual with any issue! Counseling can be a positive experience where you can develop into a more positive, confident, and resilient person.

www.thrivecounselingcenterllc.com

Free & Useful Self-Help Apps

In today's modern smart phone world, there are many available apps (both free and for purchase) on Iphones for clients to utilize to enhance the counseling experience.  I thought it would be helpful to share some of my favorite free apps:

• Anxiety Free:  Self-hypnosis to reduce anxiety and its associated negative consequences (free).
• Breathe2Relax: Stress management tool using diaphragmatic breathing (free).
• Relax Melodies: White noise for sleep, meditation, or yoga (free).
• Personal Zen: Game that trains your brain to look to for the positive and avoid the negatives, it's a fun yet effective way to reduce stress and boost well-being (free).
• ReliefLink: Tracks and monitors your mood and behaviors, safety plan tools, appointment reminders, built-in coping tools, and an emergency button (free).
• MyFitnessPal: Counts your calories and tracks your exercise activities, great program if you're trying to lose weight (free).
• Unstuck: Kick-start success for specific kinds of stuck moments, helps you to make decisions, set plans, get motivated, etc. (free).
• PTSD Coach: Great app for Veterans or Service Members who have or may have PTSD, provides educational information, self-assessment, opportunities to find support, and tools to help manage stress (free).
• iQuit: Helps you to quit smoking using the "scheduled reduction" method (free).

The above apps are available through the App Store or Itunes.

www.thrivecounselingcenterllc.com