The therapeutic process can help you with difficulties that may arise because of individual issues or troubled relationships with one's family, friends, school, employer, or others. Although no one can solve your problems for you, we are usually successful in helping individuals cope and overcome their difficulties. The involvement of a skilled therapist can prove extremely valuable in finding solutions to confusing and complex personal and/or family issues. It is your responsibility to help the therapist understand your life situation, thoughts, and feelings and to work toward mastering problem areas. Therapy does not provide instant answers, but sometimes, situational problems can be dealt with in a relatively short period.
Your decision to enter into therapy undoubtedly will be a serious one, arrived at after considerable thought. The decision to begin counseling/psychotherapy is one decision, which may have important consequences for the rest of your life. Research shows that when people enter therapy with a good understanding of what they are about to undertake, they are likely to achieve more favorable results.
In counseling/psychotherapy, you and a trained mental health professional will work on ways to handle problems. These concerns may include anxieties and fears, interpersonal problems, depression, low self-esteem, substance abuse or other addictions, parent-child problems, and/or academic problems. Your therapist will help you to get to know yourself better in order to understand the nature of your difficulties. Together, you and your therapist can come up with more constructive ways of dealing with your problems.
Therapy may include individual, couples, or family therapy sessions. The type of therapy will also depend on the theoretical orientation and background of your therapist. Such types of theoretical orientation may include cognitive-behavioral, insight-oriented, psychodynamic, experiential, and family systems. You may wish to ask your therapist about his/her orientation at the start of therapy.
Therapy is more likely to be successful if you spend time between sessions thinking about what was discussed or trying out suggestions made by your therapist. Specific books for you to read may also be recommended. Ask your therapist if this is something that you would find useful. As therapists, we are committed to helping individuals grow toward their fullest potential on physical, emotional, social, and spiritual levels. Our goal is to help you resolve problem areas that are keeping you from achieving your goals. Your responsibility is to help us understand your life situation, thoughts, and feelings to the best of your ability. This includes thoughts and feelings about your therapy and your therapist, which can be relevant.
Counseling/psychotherapy can have benefits and risks. Since therapy often involves discussing unpleasant aspects of your life, you may experience uncomfortable feelings like sadness, guilt, anger, frustration, loneliness, and helplessness. Sometimes, you may feel worse before you start feeling better. This is normal. On the other hand, counseling/psychotherapy has also been shown to have many benefits. Therapy often leads to better relationships, solutions to specific problems, better physical health, and significant reductions in feelings of distress. However, there are no guarantees of what you will experience.
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