All therapists are the same:
Some of us are similar and some of us are vastly different. Your experience with each counselor is different. If the first one or two you try doesn’t feel right to find another one. Fit is important. You need to feel comfortable opening up so your counselor can help.
Therapy signals weakness:
Wouldn’t be great if we were born knowing how to navigate the world successfully? As we experience life we are faced with new challenges that we may not know how to handle. We need teachers throughout our lives to help us learn and grow. The beauty of a counselor is that s/he/they can listen more objectively to help you see life situations through different lenses. “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Dr. Maya Angelou
Therapy is too expensive:
Sometimes therapy sessions are available through Employees Assistance Plans, Sometimes session fees can be covered, in part, by medical insurance, and they also can be paid for through Medical Savings Plans. Ultimately, therapy is an investment in you. When you learn tools, they are available to use for a lifetime. You can even pass on these valuable tools to loved ones.
Therapy is mysterious:
As we experience life from the time we are born to current day, we have made conclusions about how the world works. That works until it doesn’t. Therapy can help to explore the world through different perspectives to see if our old ways of thinking still remains effective. Much like the idea that the world was flat served us well until we, as humans, wanted to explore. The flat world perspective was limiting. Our thoughts and beliefs can be similarly limiting. Exploring these beliefs happens much like an interesting conversation without judgement. We all have perspectives based on our life experiences. No beliefs are better or worse than another, they are just helpful or not helpful. You decide if you find new perspectives discussed helpful.
The two indicators that says counseling works:
- You have to like your counselor. If the things your counselor says doesn’t resonate with you, find a different one. There are many of us out there. You need to feel comfortable and trust your therapist. If you don’t, you are wasting your time and money.
- You have to do the work. If we do the same things, we will get the same results. We have to try new ways of engaging in our world in order to experience different outcomes.
*The idea to include the Myths of Counseling was as a result of reading the book Building Your Ideal Private Practice written by Lynn Grodzki.