What are the benefits of therapy?
There are a variety of benefits that can come from therapy, and they tend to be individualized. Therapy works through building a relationship with the therapist and identifying patterns of thought and behavior that can be changed to create growth. Making space to explore unconscious patterns and working with them in different ways allows you to create a different relationship with your history and emotions.
There are different reasons behaviors and emotions become uncomfortable, and working with environmental, emotional, cognitive, and biological foundations are among the beginning steps of change. Therapy can help you learn new skills and gain understanding of how to interact with your life in a positive manner.
Therapists are there to provide levels of support, teach certain skills, and help clients discover new coping strategies for things like anxiety, depression, stress, or even creative blocks. Therapy can often help you identify skills and resources to help with issues such as family problems, relationships, and career difficulties.
Some benefits of therapy include:
– Grasping a deeper understanding of who you are
– Creating balance in your life
– Identifying your goals and dreams
– Obtaining skills for strengthening your relationships
– Identifying, and changing, destructive thought patterns
– Managing problem areas in your personal life, like anger, stress, depression, etc.
– Creating new patterns of behavior for yourself
– Changing your problem-solving perspective
– Boosting your self-esteem and confidence
What makes people go to therapy in the first place? How do I know if it’s the right decision?
Depression, anxiety, relationship issues, and even low-self esteem are often common reasons to seek out help. You may start out looking for one thing, and find on your journey that you can gain so much more through working with a therapist who allows you space to explore your experiences and learn different skills.
In terms of making the ‘right decision’ for yourself, therapy is a personal decision, but if you take a look at your life, and your desire is to make a change that starts from within, it’s likely that some form of psychotherapy can be a great benefit. If you want to learn more about your differences, and how they lead to a fulfilling life, working with a therapist is an important part of reaching your goals.
What can I expect from therapy?
Just as the reasons for entering therapy are different for everyone, most people can expect different experiences. Therapy is individually focused, which is why everyone can get something different out of it. Generally, your life, your history, and any relevant insights will be important to the specific discussions, but in a very personal and individualized manner. Sometimes therapy can be focused on a specific need, in which case therapy can be short term, while in other cases, people go to therapy regularly, each week, to work on different issues, as they arise, and continue to identify areas where understanding and healing are necessary.
Therapy isn’t meant to be a ‘quick fix’ where you simply sit back and listen. It is a participatory experience. The more you involve yourself in the process, the better results you’re bound to see. It’s a practice in everyday living, in which you take what you learn from the session, and apply it to your life. Therefore, it’s important to be mentally prepared to make those changes in your life, and desire new perspectives on things. Therapy is not always a comfortable experience, as you can spend time and energy working to understand aspects of yourself that are difficult and sometimes painful to explore. Working with a therapist as you explore difficult topics provides you with a safe environment that can facilitate the healing process.
Do the topics in each therapy session remain private?
In any therapeutic relationship, your privacy is of the utmost importance. Therapy works best when you feel safe to share your experiences, emotions, and beliefs, and confidentially is a key aspect in building trust in therapy. If you request a superbill for reimbursement from your insurance, a diagnosis will be shared with your insurance. Nothing you share in your sessions will be told to anyone else without your consent, with the rare exceptions of suspected abuse of any kind (including child protection), or if I have any reason to believe that you may hurt yourself, or others. These situations are a matter of ethical procedures, and sometimes, even the law. I will discuss the limits of confidentiality in our first session.
In my work with minors, I do not discuss the content of each session with parents, allowing the client to feel safe in sharing their full range of experiences in therapy. Any safety concerns will be shared with parents. I will discuss with the family what information will be shared at the beginning of therapy and will provide updates regarding general themes of therapy, as well as working with the family to build skills and support the client in their growth. I ask that both parents sign consent for treatment, in order to provide the best care for your child.