Why Is Seeing a Therapist a Great First Step?

If you aren’t feeling like the best version of yourself, you aren’t alone. Many of us struggle with stressors, challenges and intense emotions. Symptoms of a behavioral health condition can also get in the way of us functioning at our best. While it isn’t uncommon to struggle, you don’t have to do it alone. You also don’t have to wait until your life becomes unmanageable to ask for help. 

Seeing a therapist as a first step toward wellness can be a wonderful option for a variety of reasons. Here are a few:

  1. Therapy can help you see the big picture. We can get so, so lost in our day to day that we don’t see what is going on around us. It can be hard to take stock of how you are feeling and identify when things may be getting out of hand. They say “you can’t see the forest through the trees” for a reason. A skilled, licensed therapist can help you to take a step back and really explore what is going on for you. 
  2. Counseling can help you make a plan. After you see a therapist they will develop a treatment plan with you, a blueprint on how you will work together to help you feel better and achieve your goals. This focused planning can help you to identify what is important to you and find real ways to effect change. 
  3. Therapy can help to treat and eliminate intrusive symptoms. Conditions such as depression and anxiety can have a number of painful symptoms. Counseling can help you to find ways to treat these symptoms and work toward remission. There are many effective approaches to include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and EMDR to name a few. Your therapist can make recommendations of evidenced based approaches that may be best for you and begin to utilize them in your sessions. 
  4. Counseling can improve your relationships. You can learn so many valuable skills in therapy, relationship skills are a big part of this. Many find that when they engage in counseling they become a better friend, partner, co-worker, sibling etc. When we engage with others in healthier ways so many parts of our lives can improve. 
  5. Therapy can improve your physical health. When we feel better mentally we feel better physically and vice versa. Wellness is about treating all of you, not just parts.  
  6. Counseling can help you work through difficult life events. Life can be stressful and bad things can happen. You don’t have to face adversity alone, therapy can help. 
  7. Therapy can help you to process and feel more in control of difficult emotions. Unfortunately, when we feel intense emotions we tend to either explode or stuff how we are feeling. Neither tendency is healthy. When you find the counselor that is right for you, you can begin to face intense emotions and work through them. No longer do you have to feel controlled by your emotions. Therapy can help you to take back your control and keep it. 

There are so many benefits to counseling and reasons to seek out therapy as a first step in your wellness journey. We all struggle and experience symptoms at times, you deserve to feel better. You deserve support and effective treatment. 

Carolina Counseling Services in Fayetteville, NC contracts with skilled, licensed therapists who can help. Call today and schedule your first appointment. Begin your journey toward wellness with CCS.

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