Life Counseling Services & Self-Improvement Counseling

Medically reviewed by Andrea Brant, LMHC and Julie Dodson, MA, LCSW
Updated March 17th, 2025 by BetterHelp Editorial Team

Life counseling services, like counseling services from a professional, can help you learn how to achieve clear goals. These life counseling services can provide you with an objective perspective, help you understand your life’s mission, enhance your accountability, and encourage you to develop a range of problem-solving skills to help yourself out when you are struggling. You can connect with a mental health professional in person, or online—which you can have from the comfort of your own home.

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Benefits of life counseling

If you’ve encountered a situation in which you’re not sure how to proceed, life counseling can provide many benefits.We’ve listed a few of the most common benefits below:

Gain an objective perspective

Sometimes, we can get caught up in our own heads. These thought patterns, whether they’re old or new, can cause excessive stress.

To break this cycle of stressful, overwhelming thoughts, you may need to talk to someone who can listen closely and be objective. If you’re not sure where to start, please consider reaching out to your healthcare team or primary practitioner for personalized support and counseling advice. 

Talk to a friend

We do want to note: If you’re looking for non-serious or urgent objective perspective, it can be enough to simply talk with a friend, a family, or someone you love. On the other hand, you may find that talking to someone close to you doesn't help much. In this case, you may benefit from speaking with a mental health professional whose job is to offer you support and serve useful advice. In counseling, individuals can learn how to alleviate stress, cultivate hope in difficult times, and find tools for achieving peace and healing

These goals can be met either at a life center or from the comfort of your own home or safe place via virtual individual counseling. There may also be counseling support found at religion-specific resources, such as Christian counseling or service-based counseling for children, adolescents, and young adults. 

Streamline your self-improvement process

You may have a wide range of behavioral health goals and objectives, but you may not know how to begin to achieve them. Life counselors, either at a center or online, specialize in methods that can enable you to see outside the box—which can help you formulate your overall plan and prioritize your goals. 

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Focus on what you actually want

Many people become caught up in what they think they should be doing rather than what they actually want. This can cause stress and contribute to feelings of unhappiness as you walk through your behavioral health journey and experience. 

When you take the time to separate what you want from what you don’t, you may have a better chance of achieving your goals and realizing true contentment in your life.

Enhance your accountability

A life coach can ensure you are accountable for taking steps toward your goals. They can help you break down each of your objectives into smaller steps and overcome any potential hurdles that may derail your progress. Together, the two of you can become a team working to achieve your end game, whether that is career success, having a child, more meaningful relationships, or whatever else you are seeking. 

Lean on your support system for coping with setbacks

When you work with a life counselor, you may also be better equipped to accept problems that can inevitably arise over time. Without a support system, it can be tempting to just give up when you encounter setbacks. If you have someone to help you, though, it can be easier to push through or find another way around so you can keep working toward your goals.

Develop problem-solving skills with life counseling

Do you have a problem that is holding you back? Maybe you are not struggling with any one particular concern, but are finding it hard to feel satisfied, proud of your accomplishments, or at peace. Life coaches can provide training that helps you look at problems like these from different angles. 

If you are feeling stuck in a rut, experiencing a lack of motivation and accountability, or sensing a disruption of your inner peace, seeing a life coach can get you moving in the right direction. 

Finding professional counseling

Often, many of the individuals who stand to benefit the most from counseling tend to be the ones who feel hesitant to take the first step to seek help. Perhaps they feel embarrassed that they haven’t experienced success. Alternatively, feeling anxious or depressed may make it hard to try something unfamiliar. These factors can make it challenging to motivate oneself to meet with a therapist or head to a life counseling center in person.

For these clients, online counseling may be a viable alternative. On online therapy platforms such as BetterHelp, a therapist may be just a click away. Once you’re signed up, you can schedule an appointment—connecting with therapists from the location of your choosing and at a time that’s convenient for you. 

Research in the field suggests that this form of remote life counseling can be quite effective. In one recent study, college students reported an increase in self-esteem and belonging after receiving counseling services online and via text message.

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Takeaway

It can be common to encounter circumstances in life in which we’re unsure of how to move forward. Often, life counseling services from a licensed mental health professional can help greatly in these situations. It can be possible to develop better problem-solving skills, enhance your accountability, streamline your goal-achieving process, and gain an objective perspective by working with a therapist. If you’re feeling stuck, don’t hesitate to reach out for support. BetterHelp can connect you with an online therapist in your area of need.

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