5 Reasons to Consider Talk Therapy
Have you pondered the idea of going to therapy? Here are just a few reasons to reflect on as you make the decision to pursue talk therapy.
Feeling misaligned with yourself is disheartening. It can be emotionally and energetically exhausting. Yet, others speak so highly of you and compliment on how you are able to hold it together. What they don’t see, however, is under the surface you’re desperately seeking clarity, control, and yearning to take hold of the steering wheel of your life again. That you are actively trying to reclaim your authenticity.
What is Talk Therapy?
Talk therapy is just one of several different modalities that aims to help individuals with their mental health. Largely known as psychotherapy, talk therapy is communication focused and may involve individuals, couples, families, and/or groups of people struggling with similar difficulties. Providers who utilize talk therapy may specialize in one or various modalities to individualize care to a client’s needs.
While talk therapy is highly beneficial, some individuals may find that it can be counterproductive with their healing journey. Because of this, there are several other approaches to therapy that involve non-communicative methods to achieve healing. Kyli Rodriguez-Cayo shares some examples of non-talk therapy on Bustle which include Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Music Therapy, Play Therapy, Art Therapy, Somatic Therapy, and even Wilderness Therapy.
All of these therapeutic styles are beneficial and you as the client have agency in deciding what format you’d most resonate with. What is great about therapy (in general) is that providers can include both communicative and non-communicative styles into your therapeutic journey.
While the non-communicative forms are beneficial in their own ways, here are five reasons why incorporating talk therapy may be right for you.
Reason #1: Understanding Your Emotions + Feelings
A large portion of talk therapy is devoted to helping you gain clarity to your emotions and feelings. It is no surprise that sitting in a room with a stranger can elicit potential nervousness, trust concerns, and doubt.
Negative social experiences teach us that trust is hard to come by. Maybe you had a friend take advantage of your reliable willingness to help in times of need. There may have been a time when you had to cut ties with a relationship because you never felt loved or safe in moments of vulnerability.
As you pursue talk therapy, you’ll begin developing and nurturing introspection and insight capabilities. Your provider should be non-judgmental and encourage growth by improving your understanding of how you are experiencing the world. It’s an opportunity to understand, feel, and gain a deeper sense of Self. Developing insight allows you opportunity to nourish self-processing when faced with a challenge or concern. This enables more understanding and feeling your emotions while also learning what to do with them.
Reason #2: Identifying Roadblocks Preventing Your Growth
Perhaps you’ve fallen in a rut and cannot grasp what is causing you to feel stuck, unmotivated, or frozen. Therapists, especially when they have seen you for more than a few sessions, are able to recognize discrepancies in what your goals may be and what you are currently experiencing. They will often utilize challenges (which encourage more discussion and help move clients toward self-reflection).
When clients spend the majority of their lives in survival mode, sympathetic activation, and focusing their attention to the needs of others, it becomes difficult to recognize what is keeping one stuck. Therapy can raise attention to mental or physical roadblocks keeping you from healing that may very well be blocked from your recognition.
Reason #3: Comfortable Space for Processing
When you find the right counselor/therapist for you, you should feel no judgment and completely comfortable in their presence. It is critical to feel safe, because this will afford you a more nurturing and supportive environment as you open up to vulnerability. As you begin your journey to self-improvement, it can be an exhaustive and difficult process to find a provider that you feel safe and resonate well with. This portion of the process to therapeutic healing can be so challenging that it can cause individuals to avoid doing it altogether.
Unfortunately, individuals may face judgment and shame with certain providers preventing them from receiving genuine and authentic counseling services. When you find your match and are able to feel safe with someone, your ability to open up, process difficult emotions and experiences, and work toward goals will happen at its own pace.
If you are currently in a therapeutic relationship that you are unsure is safe, if comfortable discuss with your provider. Sometimes there may be miscommunication/misunderstanding that can be quickly worked out or corrected to continue on appropriately. It can also be helpful in that if the therapeutic relationship is not working out, they may be able to provide you with a referral to someone who will be receiving of you and what you are struggling with. Please note, if you have legal or ethical complaints, this would warrant more immediate attention. If that is the case, you can report your provider to the State board of their licensing.
Reason #4: Builds Perspective of Others, Not Just Self
A huge portion of individual therapy is devoted to working on one’s Self. Helping individuals process trauma, work through life transitions, strengthen interpersonal relationships, nurture insight, and more. Another huge benefit to therapy is that it also allows an individual to begin understanding other people.
In such a way that it allows you to look at situations and experiences without having rose colored glasses on. It can be extremely beneficial to recognize another’s perspective, particularly when navigating interpersonal relationships. Throughout therapy, one begins to realign with their Self. This can lead to the quieting of externalization, limiting beliefs, and ultimately shedding negative core beliefs. By being more in tune with Self, one can begin understanding how another may be in a difficult position.
Reason #5: Can Prepare You for Future Uncertainties
While therapy is useful to help tackle the past, it is very beneficial for preparing you for the future. As you begin your healing journey, nurture the development of your intuition and insight, and continue practicing the skills learned in therapy, when life decides to pull the rug from underneath your feet you will be ready.
That does not mean that you’ll be just fine and dandy without a fault. More so, that you will have greater understanding of yourself, what thoughts, emotions and feelings arise, and how to manage a situation (you are currently in) causing unrest and discomfort. As Alice Walton stated in an article for Forbes, “Learning how not to get swallowed up by events, but instead how to form a game plan to deal with them, is the key (and it takes a lot of practice).”
Final Thoughts
One thing to always remember and keep in mind when considering talk therapy - you are in control*. You may not feel that way in the beginning, but you are. If you do not vibe well with a therapist you are working with or feel judged, criticized, and/or discriminated against, you have the choice to choose someone else. It is at your discretion to pick a therapist you believe will provide you the safe space you deserve as you begin the therapeutic process. This is your journey.
*If you are in mandated therapy/counseling services or have difficulty accessing equitable care, it may be more difficult to pick a therapist that aligns with your needs/wants. Keep in mind, that you still have autonomy in expressing how the therapeutic relationship is going for you and still have the right to report any provider who may be in violation of their ethical and legal duties.
Journal Prompt
What would your ideal therapy process feel and/or look like?
Take care in the meantime,
Brenton