Life Counseling For Self-Improvement

We may all come to a crossroads in life, wondering what the future holds or how we can best move forward. We may have crucial questions and challenges about what is happening around us and how we fit into our own lives. This can lead us to the question: Which path do we take to pursue the best life?

Life counseling services can help you learn how to wade through your own desires to set and achieve clear, streamlined goals. These services can provide you with an objective perspective, streamline your goal-achieving process, 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 providing life counseling services in person at a life counseling center, or online—which you can have from the comfort of your own home.

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 of life counseling below: 

Gain an objective perspective

Sometimes, we can get caught up in our own heads. We might start to question everything we do. Maybe you've started thinking about what you want to accomplish with your life. Perhaps you constantly worry about what you're going to do to overcome obstacles or whether you're going to succeed. These thought patterns, whether they’re old or new, can cause excessive stress.

Talk to a friend or counselor

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. You may be able to work out some of your concerns by simply sitting down and taking a few minutes to chat. 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. 

Religion-specific counselors

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

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. For example, watching friends begin to form families or focus on their careers above all else may encourage you to feel pressured to do the same. 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 with help from counselors

When you set goals and objectives on your own, they may fall off your radar and be placed on the back burner. A life counselor 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 could 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. It is likely unrealistic that you will reach all your goals without ever hitting a stumbling block. If you don't have 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 the obstacle or find another way around so you can keep working toward your goals.

Develop problem-solving skills

Do you have a problem that is holding you back? Maybe you are afraid to speak your mind during a meeting or on a work site. Maybe you are shy about starting your own business and reaching out to a community. Maybe you are finding it challenging to have difficult conversations with a loved one, such as a partner, parents, or a teen. 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 counselors can provide training that helps you look at problems like these from different angles. They are experts at helping people formulate plans to achieve personal and professional success. 

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 counselor can get you moving in the right direction. 

Finding professional guidance and support near you

Finding a life counseling center

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

Getting guidance, advice, and mental health support through online therapy

For these clients, online life counseling may be a viable alternative. On online therapy platforms such as BetterHelp, a life counselor 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.