Starting therapy can be an exciting step towards wellbeing, and it can also be extremely unsettling. For those of us who are exploring this concept of talking about our life and finding ways to feel better for the very first time, it isn't always sunshine and roses.
I remember beginning therapy for the first time, really not that long ago all things considered. Enough days of crying and feeling completely wrought out, I thought maybe it would be worth it. I also thought, surely everyone else has it worse than I do. Even once I got into therapy more, it came with a lot of false starts and attempts.
I imagine its become a bit of a cliche to say therapy is for everyone, which is why I thought I'd come at this from a bit of a different perspective and talk less about who therapy is for, but rather what therapy is for.
As a client and practitioner, to me, therapy is a resource to help anyone build capacity. Therapy isn't just about feeling better or feeling one way over another. It's about finding ways to recognize exactly what we're feeling, and maybe normalize or understand why. It is a resource that helps us develop tools, allowing us to co-exist with our inner state, and with that ability comes the chance to develop our self-efficacy. That might be accomplished by talking, or by using a variety of different tools/modalities like mindfulness, new ways of thinking, and body based stress management techniques for example.
Therapy is a also a relationship. The therapeutic relationship is a microcosm in which we can explore, in a contained and prepared space, how we perceive and therefore interact with our world. The dynamic in therapy is both investigative of the past and the story that we've lived out, and it is also interested in what is happening in the here and now of this moment in the story. We can both explore ourselves as a story already written, and as the author deciding what the next word is going to be.
Therapy is a sort of emotional playground for our inner parts. In one corner, one part of us has fallen over and scraped their knee, in another corner a parent is scolding their child, in the middle is a child too afraid to climb because they remember a bad fall, and there in the sandbox are parts having the best day of their life...the metaphor goes on and on. No matter what you have experienced in your life, therapy can be a facilitative resource for deepening your capacity to experience the world around you, and within you. Having an intimate relationship with ourselves, one of trust and understanding, supports us in every walk of life.
Above and beyond this, no matter how profoundly we have or have not struggled, therapy ultimately is for hope. It would be a lie to say that every client and clinician are a perfect match, so take your time to find the practitioner that is right for you. It's worth it for the moment when you find yourself in a space in which endless possibilities present themselves to you, new experiences and beliefs begin to unfold, and hope rises to the surface again.
Thank you for reading! If you are looking to explore counselling, or other holistic healing modalities through Resonant Energy Therapy, please send me an email at resonantenergytherapy@proton.me so we can setup a free discovery call and collaborate on what feels best for you!