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How do you know you need to see a therapist? The answer might surprise you. Therapy isn’t just for the obviously depressed, anxious, or uptight.
Do You Need to See a Therapist?
“Maybe you need to see a therapist,” Pedro told me.
I laughed. “I’m fine.” Sure, life had thrown us a lot of curveballs, but he had recovered. I didn’t feel overly stressed. Why would he insult me by suggesting that I may need to see a therapist? The conversation ended. I may have harbored a sliver of hurt at his suggestion.
Decades later, after writing about self-care for years and studying the importance of good mental health, I came up against a wall of emotion I couldn’t break through. Regrets piled up like semis on a slick freeway. I felt short-tempered and out of sorts. Just about every other song I listened to brought tears to my eyes or sobs shoving through the narrow space in my throat.
I called a therapist. Why did it take so long for me to take my own advice? Intellectually, I knew the important role a licensed counselor can play in a person’s mental wholeness. Emotionally, I didn’t want to admit I needed help. But I did.
Adults and children alike may need mental-health check-ups (or check-ins). I remember reading The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch years after Pedro’s miraculous recovery from cancer. The author talked about how he and his family saw a counselor as part of his cancer treatment. I remember thinking, “Why didn’t they include counseling in Pedro’s treatment plan?”
It made perfect sense a family going through a catastrophic illness could use counseling and support from a professional during a time of crisis. But we can benefit from seeing a therapist even when we aren’t facing a crisis. Today’s podcast walks you through seven signs you (or someone you love) may need to see a therapist.
Show Notes
Rapid Transformation Therapy website.
I loved this book, but I used a box or two of tissues just to get through it.
Let’s Normalize Mental Wholeness
Have you had your teeth cleaned lately? Do you go for your well-woman visits once a year? How often do you evaluate yourself for mental wholeness? Have you considered (or do you) taking a child to see a therapist? If we want to normalize good mental health, we need to start talking about it!
Love this statement Anita;
“How often do you evaluate yourself for mental wholeness?”
As a licensed & accredited (registered is what we call it here in Australia) Therapist for well over 3 decades (now in retirement) this is music to my ears!
Anita, is Inspired Monday’s Link Up on or have I got my timing out? 🤔
Bless you,
Jennifer
Tea With Jennifer recently posted…Letting Go…
I’m happy to spread the word about how healthy it is to get help! I had a little technical problem and didn’t realize it until the following day…
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Love this. There is not a much more important issue than erasing any remaining stigma associated with therapy.
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Amen!
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Seeing a therapist is a great way to process what you are going through or what you went through. It has less of a stigma than it used to, but it still is not as widely accepted as it should be. A good counselor or therapist can help a person, couple, or family deal with and help solve things they would still be trying to solve years later. Going to a counselor is not admitting defeat, it is saying you are ready to tackle a problem and make progress. It is being strong enough to realize you don’t have all the answers. They have been invaluable in my life. I remember hearing a Focus on the Family episode years ago that the best wedding present you could get your kids was a year of therapy. Catching problems when they are beginning is a lot easier to solve and then develop healthier patterns, when they are caught as they are first forming.
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Oh, I LOVE this idea! Think of all the arguments that could be avoided by entering marriage with better tools for discussion!
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I’m of the opinion that we all could benefit from mental health checkups just like physical health checkups. Counselors have helped me through some tough spots through the years. But they’re also great for “normal” times too to keep us mentally healthy.
Lisa notes recently posted…Empathize with the Hurt {Mantra 7}
Oh, you know I love this post, Anita! We make mental health check ups a family affair! My husband and I go regularly to separate counselors. I have been seeing a counselor regularly for over 20 years….checking up on all the things! And both of my kids have gone as well. We have taken a break with them for now because they don’t need it as regularly at 8 and 10 as we older folks do!
Shelbee
Love your post, except I felt disappointed that what drew me in (the heading that said 7 signs you need a therapist) was nowhere mentioned. Seems you have to listen to a podcast to hear what they are? That’s a bit misleading, and disappointing as well because I don’t listen to podcasts.
Hey, Sandra! I understand ;). I don’t actually listen to many podcasts, either. The podcasts are based on blog posts I’ve written (sometimes multiple blog posts), and I’ll leave a link here to the blog post that most of the info came from. Oh, my! I just realized I FORGOT TO INCLUDE THE PODCAST link for this post. This has been a rough week! Here’s the link: https://anitaojeda.com/how-to-know-if-your-child-needs-a-therapist/