Common Questions About Therapy
How do I know if I need therapy?
If you are experiencing emotions that feel overwhelming or difficult to manage, it may be a sign to seek help from a professional mental health therapist.
Common Signs of Emotional Distress:
Persistent sadness, feelings of hopelessness or loss of interest.
Anxiety / constant worry, difficulty controlling racing thoughts or feeling on “edge”.
Uncontrolled anger or irritability.
Impact on daily functioning – Work performance, sleep or appetite changes.
Difficulty coping with Life Transitions – Grief and loss of a loved one or relationship
Increased substance use.
Do you have to struggle with serious mental health issues to benefit from therapy?
Therapy is not only beneficial for people struggling with trauma(s), anxiety, stress or depression.
Many people seek therapy for:
personal growth
feeling stuck in life
stress management
struggling with with life transitions (job changes, loss of a loved one or divorce)
wanting to integrate awarenesses gained from a psychedelic journey
identify barriers to reaching goals
relationship struggles
building resilience to face life’s future challenges
Expand upon positive experiences / Discover Flow States
Is everything discussed in therapy confidential?
Therapy provides a safe space, free of judgment where client’s can freely express the most vulnerable side of themselves. Confidentiality can only be broken in very specific situations, such as an imminent threat of serious harm to one self or others.
What’s the difference between seeing a therapist or talking to a friend?
A therapist provides professional objectivity and evidence-based tools that help client’s identify and heal the roots of their struggles. While a good friend can lend an ear and provide a sense of support, they have an inherent bias that prevents them from seeing situations truly objectively.
Where a therapist mainly guides a client to discover solutions through explorations of relationship patterns and underlying issues, a friend most often provides advice.
A therapist encourages understanding and insight into thoughts, feelings and behaviors, while friends typically problem solve or want to fix the issue or symptom.
How often do you have to go to therapy?
In the beginning, most people start with weekly sessions as to gather information about the presenting problem and build rapport with the therapist. Depending on the severity of the issue, client’s will move to biweekly sessions as to provide the opportunity to employ the tools learned in sessions.