Why may I benefit from speaking with a therapist or how may it benefit me?

Dear Ric,

I am so glad that you reached out with this question!  It is so good to ask this question and look into if counseling would be helpful for you in this season of life. 

Throughout my 14 years of practice as a therapist, I have enjoyed working with people who come to therapy to work on stressors connected to doing work and school full time and do not have "big" things.  I am going to share with you some thoughts and ideas about why counseling might be helpful for you in this stage of your life.  And encourage you to make a well informed choice for you life at this time. 

First of all, therapy is meant for people in many different circumstances and many different reasons.  Of course, some people do have "big" issues when they come to counseling, and many people come because they need support in the day to day realities of life. When we have many things on our plate, it can be very stressful and bring about much struggle, even if the struggle is not connected to a trauma or something "bigger."

So secondly, I want to share with you what you may get from counseling.  A big part of counseling is the opportunity to be heard, validated, encouraged, and honest about how you are feeling and what is going on in your life.  That is an important part of change.  I have seen many people come to counseling because they don't have a safe place to be truly and deeply honest with themselves and another person.  That can be truly freeing for a person to get very honest!  It can also help you to come to some wisdom about how you need to proceed with your current life circumstances.  

Another gift that counseling can give you is a different perspective on your life circumstances and emotions and thoughts.  Many times, when we are living life, we struggle to see other perspectives.  We all have blinders to the things that we are going through and counseling can give others a voice in your life, that you may not have seen in yourself and in your circumstances.  

Counseling can also be a place that you gain more skills and tools to manage life's challenges.  Every counselor has been trained in giving many coping skills, calming mechanisms and ways of managing life and stress.  Going to counseling will give you opportunity to learn different ways of managing your emotions, your life circumstances and building a tool box for emotional and mental health. 

Another gift of therapy is that your therapist is trained to be aware of and address, if there is any other issues, going on that you have not noticed and been aware of.  That can be very helpful in looking at potential issues that are underneath the surface and outside the awareness of the client's vision.  Of course, that is not the case for every client, but it is a gift that can be given to clients who need it. 

Third, in my counseling practice I have seen people gain much benefit from counseling when they don't have  a "big" problem.  That allows for much space to focus on the day to day issues and get to what is important right now.  I have seen many people gain some good coping skills for the stress of a very full life due to work and school.  It is a very stressful time and it can bring up emotions and struggles that need support in sharing openly and honestly and also building a tool box of emotional and mental health skills.  

When people around me are contemplating if they should go to counseling or not, I like to throw at them the following questions ... What are you scared of if you would take that step into counseling?  What makes you believe that it will not be helpful?  As you think about stepping into counseling, what do you think you would like to work on and get help for in the counseling setting?

It seems that you are contemplating counseling for a reason.  I would encourage you to sit with what that reason is and if you can get help and support in other ways if you feel that counseling is not the best option.  I know that some folks find great support in openly talking with spiritual figures in their lives, honest and caring friends and or mentors.  

I would encourage you to sit with those questions and see what you come up with.  Counseling may be what you need or you may be able to find what you need in other arenas.  

I also know that some schools give the opportunity for counseling on the college campus with a licensed counselor for free.  I would encourage you to look into that as another option.  

I hope that you can come to a place where you know what you need to do in moving forward during this stressful time of your life.  

It is very normal to feel so stressed out when you have so much on your plate.  And I have sat with many clients who have a full plate and they learn good coping skills and tools to help with the stress and calming the body mind and soul.  

I hope that you are able to come to a place where you feel confident in the decision that you make about going to counseling or not.  

If you would like to pursue counseling, I would love to work with you, if you would like to work with me too.  There are also many amazing therapists on BetterHelp if you need someone with different characteristics, expertise or schedule.  

I am so proud of you for asking this question and seeing if this is a wise step for you right now.  

I wish you the best of luck with work, with your schooling and with your emotional and mental health journey.  

Paula Peterson, MS, LPC