Many people have heard of the word “Therapy” but that does’t mean that they understand it’s benefits.
And when a person doesn’t understand something, they are likely not able to reap it’s benefits
Therefore, here are 20 benefits of therapy that should help you to get a better understanding of what therapy is and how it could be useful for you.
THERAPY WILL HELP YOU TO:
Become more confident and at ease in social situations
When people think of therapy, they often think of what is happening in the room with the therapist. But therapy has long-standing benefits where you will develop skills that are useful both in the room and outside of the room. In fact, the goal of working with a therapist is to teach you to better manage yourself outside of the therapist office. Finding a good therapist can give you the skills that you need to feel more calm when in settings where your therapist is not present.
Understand personal values and how to live in accord with them
Sometimes we know that something is not right, but we cannot quite figure out what it is or how to fix it. Getting with a good therapist will give you the skills and insight that you need to recognize when there is discord in your life. Your therapist will then help you learn how to identify areas for alignment so that your values will match your actions on a more consistent basis.
Increase focus, attention, organization and time management skills
It’s great to have goals, but if you don’t know how to execute those goals, you may as well not have them at all. One of the best attributes of the therapist is that they act as your accountability partner. Once you share your goals with them, your therapist will help you figure out what is preventing you from reaching those goals while offering helpful insights to complement the strengths that you already have so that you can better achieve them.
Learn about self-help and community resources and supports
A good therapist is likely well connected in the community or has access to resources that are. Therefore, connecting with a good therapist will help you not only meet your mental health goals from a therapeutic perspective, but also connect you to resources that can complement your therapy treatment. Many of these resources that will be utilized to support your therapy treatment, can continue to be utilized once treatment with your therapist has adjourned.
Become a better caregiver or advocate for others
Therapist should be modeling appropriate behavior. They set the standard for examples of what a good relationship is like. In a sense, they act as caregivers for their clients from a therapeutic perspective. Thus, not only will they use their skill set to help you meet your mental health goals, but they will model appropriate interactions such that you can help the people in your life as well.
Plan for crises to ensure safety and reduce risk of harm
Sometimes, emotions can get the best of us. Feelings of desperation and overwhelm can leave even the most emotionally mature person into taking drastic measures for some relief. Sometimes, this is expressed in unhealthy ways that are harmful to our self and others. Therapist help you to prepare to have a safety plan in case you are prone to experiencing impulse control issues such as self-harm or suicidal attempts. It’s important to know that all crisis’s are not imminent risk issues to yourself, but sometimes other people. Some behaviors are risky to both you and other people and you don’t even realize it at the time. A therapist not only helps to educate you on this but provides you with a plan to practice should these issues arise.
Have more satisfying relationships at home, school or work
The quality of your life is often dictated based off of relationships that you develop with people. However, many people have unhealthy relationships and they don’t understand why. Part of what a therapist does is help you realize what areas of your relationships are not meeting your expectations. Weather the root of the issue has to do with your childhood or with some level of trauma, a therapist will help you not only learn to identify where the unhealthy behavior comes from, but to incorporate strategies to implement to help you learn to fix them.
Have a safe and private place to talk about sensitive and personal issues
Between the demands of work and family life, sometimes people struggle to identify areas where they can have private conversations. But working with a therapist does just that. One of the biggest benefits of working with a therapist is that they are bound to confidentiality and therefore go to extreme measures to protect your privacy. Even when therapy is provided via telehealth, a therapist will make many suggestions to maximize your privacy. Examples may suggest that you sit outside on the front porch, go in your car, or go to a private bedroom, close the door ,and turn on some white noise on your TV to block out the sound. Your therapist, of course, will provide their own private setting for your confidentiality needs in their office location. This might be your only moment to securely address your most private and intimate concerns.
Better understand symptoms and diagnosis
Did you know that 1 in 5 people is currently suffering with a mental health condition at any given time and that 90% of people will have suffered from some mental health condition before they die? This knowledge is important because many people shy away from getting mental health treatment because they don’t want to deal with the stigma of mental health diagnosis’s. However, if the same people knew about how common mental health illnesses were, they would likely take it more seriously and address it. A good therapist will help you to learn not only what types of mental illnesses you are dealing with but will offer you strategies for being able to manage the symptoms better. In many cases, a therapist will help you reduce your symptoms of mental illness or eliminate them altogether.
Become informed about additional effective treatment options
There are so many resources that are available to you to help you to manage your mental health. Examples include meditation, yoga, and religious-based activities. And there are many others to choose from as well. A good therapist is likely doing their own level of self-care and would be happy to share their resources and activities with you if they think it’s helpful. In areas where they are incompetent, they are obligated to network with other professionals who have more information, or make referrals. Therefore, acting with the therapist will help you not only tap into knowledge that they have of resources that are available to you, but the resources of their friends and colleagues.
Decrease or eliminate depression and anxiety
Depression and anxiety are often so common, that many people don’t even realize that they are experiencing them. In fact, most clients who present to therapy have experienced some form of depression and anxiety irrespective of their treatment needs and goals. Therapist will help you not only learn how to identify when depression and anxiety is present, but will help you to learn to reduce the symptoms associated with them so that you can live the quality of life that you deserve.
Reduce and manage negative or destructive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
Depending upon what you have been exposed to, or your natural disposition to anger and frustration, you might not have the best anger management strategies. Sometimes, this isn’t brought to our attention until it’s too late (ie. failed relationships, loss of job, legal problems). Part of a therapist’s job is to help you to get this in check so that your future experiences will not reflect the same level of poor anger management strategies as your past. This is important because oftentimes the ways that we deal with anger are so far ingrained in us, that even when we recognize that we are not behaving appropriately, we struggle with learning better anger management skills. If you are struggling with anger, getting into therapy is one of the best things you can do for yourself.
Learn effective coping skills to manage difficult situations
No matter how great your life is, you will experience difficulties. Sometimes, it is hard to know how to handle them. Do you smile and bear the difficulty? Do you fight the offender back? Sometimes, it helps to have a professional to help you to decide how to best handle the challenges you face in life. Your therapist is not supposed to give you direct feedback on how to handle your issues, but they are prepared to help you realize what you are good at and help you to more clearly assess your challenges so that you can make the best decisions for yourself.
Improve sleep, nutrition and physical activity patterns
Mental health challenges often act as barriers that prevent us from doing some of the most basic things such as getting a good night’s rest, eating properly, and getting the exercise that we need. But whether you need psychoeducation to help you learn the importance of doing these things more consistently, or if ,mental health challenges are preventing you from doing these things, therapy provides you with the information that you need to better tackle other behaviors that can improve your quality of life. Imagine how great your life would be if not only you could improve your mental health, but you improved your sleep, nutrition, and physical activity.
Establish new healthy behaviors and habits
A wise man once said that “the key to insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. The problem is, many people do the same things over and over again because they don’t know other ways of doing things. Therapists help you to realize that there are other ways that can provide you with strategies that you can use to get you a better chance of getting the results you desire.
Understand and process effects of traumatic events
Whether you have the unfortunate history of experiencing a sexual assault trauma, or a one time emotional attack from a significant other, traumatic experiences often change the course of a person’s life. A therapist helps to dive deep into your traumatic experiences and provide you with the skills and resources that you need in order to work through your traumatic experiences. Your therapist cannot make the trauma go away, but can help you to learn to live a fulfilling life after experiencing trauma.
Stop using drugs, tobacco and alcohol
Addictive behavior is something that is present due to factors related to both social and biological influences. The good news is that there are people that are trained to help you learn how to address addiction through both lenses. So many people try to fight addiction on their own and many times it’s an ever-losing battle. But with the proper addiction specialist on your side, you will learn so many things such as triggers and coping skills to help you get your addictive behavior under control. If you or someone that you care about is facing an addiction, it’s imperative that you try to get a mental health professional to help you get back on track.
Better self esteem
If you have lived long enough, more than likely you have received some messages about you that leave you feeling bad about yourself. And sometimes, no matter how hard we try to fight those thoughts, they find ways to present themselves. But a good therapist is designed to help you learn how to put those thoughts into better perspective. You can only be as good as you feel about yourself and a therapist is instrumental in helping you to change negative self-thoughts into healthy ones.
Learn to be more mindful, less stressed, and more relaxed
With so much stuff going on, it can be very easy to get distracted on things that have happened to us in the past (depression) or fearful about what could happen to us in the future (anxiety). But the key to having a fulfilling life is learning how to live in the present moment. That’s the only thing that you have control over. It’s a therapist’s job to help you to learn how to have control over your present moments so that you can maximize your potential to live your best life.
Improve overall physical and mental health and wellness
When seeking mental health treatment, people underestimate the impact that it will also have on your physical health. But think about it, almost any health condition that a person is faced with, will be met with a medical provider who will want to know about their stress levels and if they have additional stress, their doctor will likely encourage them to reduce it. That’s because mental health and physical health are more closely related than a lot of people think. Chances are, if you are willing to work on your mental health, your physical health will benefit.
As you can see, there are any benefits to therapy. And for your convenience, you don’t have to look much further to find a mental health therapist. If you are ready to get started on reaping the benefits of therapy for yourself or for a loved one today,