WILL THERAPY HELP ME?
Starting therapy for the first time can often feel scary and overwhelming, especially when you
don’t know what to expect. While talking about mental health has become more normalized in
society, therapy can still feel like an unfamiliar concept when you didn’t grow up feeling safe to
express your emotions with others. To demystify the therapy process, I have compiled a guide
on what therapy is (and isn’t), the types of concerns you can bring into sessions, and the
various therapeutic approaches that might be used to support your healing journey.
What therapy is:
1. A safe and non-judgmental space to process your thoughts, feelings and life
experiences
It is important you find a therapist who is a good fit, one that makes you feel seen, heard,
and deeply listened to. Your therapist can help you make sense of your emotions and
provide compassionate support for any difficulties you are facing. They can also help you
gain valuable insights into the concerns you are bringing to therapy.
2. A space to identify and explore patterns in your thoughts, behaviors, and
relationships that make you feel stuck
Your therapist can help you uncover the root causes of any stuckness in your life and
identify internal barriers you may have that are preventing you from living the life you
want. With your therapist, you can work to adopt healthier behaviors and break unhelpful
cycles in your life.
3. A space where you can increase self-acceptance and learn to feel comfortable
embodying your authentic self
Therapy sessions are an opportunity to practice expressing yourself fully without filters in
a safe environment. Over time, when you are repeatedly met with care and curiosity in
response to sharing your vulnerability, you may come to learn that your voice is valuable.
This new belief can ultimately help you feel more confident in your self-expression and
learn to trust yourself more. Through the therapeutic relationship, you can experience a
corrective relational experience that provides healing and growth.
4. A place to obtain psychoeducation and learn coping skills
Your therapist can help you define and understand your symptoms as well as provide
practical coping skills to manage them. For example, if you struggle with anxiety, your
therapist can help you understand your physiological responses to anxiety, learn its
origins and teach you coping skills such as breathing exercises and cognitive reframing
tools.
5. Practicing what you learn outside of sessions
In order to benefit the most from therapy, it is important to practice any coping skills you
learn in sessions outside in your day to day life. Weekly therapy can provide much
needed emotional relief, but in order to create long lasting positive change, it is crucial to
integrate your therapy insights into your daily life and routines.
What therapy is not:
1. A place to solely get advice
Therapists cannot tell you what to do with your life. They can only serve as guides to
help you uncover your thoughts, feelings, needs, and desires that can in the long run
lead to meaningful insights. These insights can empower you to make changes in your
life that best align with your values.
2. Where you can “fix yourself”
A common misconception of therapy is that you will be able to “fix yourself”. This implies
that you are somehow “broken” or that there is something fundamentally wrong with you,
but that is not true. Therapy can help you increase your self-acceptance as long lasting
change comes from self-compassion rather than self-criticism.
3. On a quick timeline to heal you
There are short and long-term therapy approaches. However, there is no predetermined
amount of time for your healing. Many of us would like healing to be as quick as
possible, but it is often a life-long journey. Therapy can make this journey a little easier,
but there is no quick magic fix to heal.
Different types of concerns you can bring to therapy sessions:
Some people think you can only come to therapy if you have trauma or a serious mental illness.
While both are good reasons to seek therapy, you can also come to therapy for any concern, big
or small, that is making you feel unhappy, insecure, or confused. These concerns can include
some of the following (this is not an exhaustive list by any means):
● Anxiety
● Addiction
● Career path issues
● Communication problems
● Dating and relationship issues
● Depression
● Family Conflict
● Friendship Conflict
● Grief
● Insomnia
● Low self-esteem
● Parenting
● Stress
Various therapeutic approaches to support your growth:
1. Cognitive and structured skill-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
(CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) focus on identifying and changing
unhelpful thought patterns and developing practical coping skills.
2. Psychodynamic therapy explores past experiences and unconscious patterns to help
you gain deeper insight into your emotions and behaviors. Over time, these insights and
your increased self-awareness can help you foster meaningful change in your life.
3. Somatic therapy uses body awareness techniques to help process trauma, regulate
emotions, and build a stronger mind-body connection.