The Benefits of Working with a Therapist
So what are the benefits of working with a therapist? When we break a bone or have a physical injury we don’t hesitate to seek medical help. We innately know a doctor can help us heal and feel better.
However when it comes to our mental health, we find ourselves wavering or questioning whether it’s worth getting the help we need, so we visit a therapist for the unbiased help we so desperately need.
We may find ourselves feeling deterred from seeking help due to the misconceptions and stigma surrounding mental health and therapy. Many fear seeking therapy will make them look “crazy”, or therapy is only for people with big trauma or diagnosed mental illness.
However, working with an online therapist can help equip us with tools and skills to proactively navigate current and future challenges. We know if we put off treating a broken bone, the injury worsens; same goes for our mental health.
There are endless reasons why therapy can help, and here are a few reasons you may want to consider therapy:
Navigating transitions
Even though we have navigated transitions our entire life, change (both positive and negative) can be stressful and scary. Working with a mental health therapist in Halifax or Bedford NS gives you space and time to work through your fears, explore your options and navigate solutions.
Therapy can also help you prepare for change, and build helpful strategies and skills to navigate the stress and fear that can come with change.
Improving relationships with a therapist
Relationships play a large role in our life, but at the same time can be complicated and a source of stress. Working with a therapist can help us better understand our wants and needs within relationships, and problem solve solutions such as establishing boundaries, managing conflict and much more.
Therapy can also help explore how past relationships may be impacting current relationships.
Learning to manage emotions
Our emotions come in all shapes and sizes, and when not addressed our emotions can come back to haunt us later. Working with a therapist can help us learn to better identify, process and cope with emotions so they don’t linger and fester. In addition we learn to improve our emotional literacy and develop skills for better emotional regulation and overall functioning.
Overall working with a therapist provides you with a safe and non-judgmental space to engage in self-exploration and encourages open and honest dialogue to work through difficulties. Therapy’s goal is to inspire self-awareness to create positive change and improve your quality of life.
Book a therapy appointment with one of our professional mental health counsellors at SMB Counselling Services (902) 266-3311.
Written by Sarah Cowans MSW RSW
Sarah Cowans earned an undergraduate degree from Mount St. Vincent University in 2007 and a Masters of Social Work degree from Wilfred Laurier University in 2011. Since graduating, Sarah has worked in a variety of settings, most recently within private practice and school-based social work.
Sarah works from a client-centered approach drawing from various research-proven approaches such as, but not limited to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Mindfulness and Perinatal Mental Health Training practices. Sarah is also a certified and practicing equine-assisted therapist providing equine assisted therapy with HRM.