Hello,

I hope you’re doing well, maybe something about the title of my blog intrigued you, I often get asked who therapy is for or if you need to be in crisis or having a ‘breakdown’ to have therapy.

I would like to invite you to read the following 3 scenarios:

Scenario 1 – you feel like you want to see a therapist but are not sure you are feeling bad enough to warrant it.

Scenario 2 – you feel low but not too low, you have good and bad days but sometimes feel certain things may be triggering you, but it is not everyday.

Scenario 3 – on paper life is good, in fact if you compare yourself to others, you feel you should be grateful for all you have and shouldn’t complain.

Which of these 3 scenarios should you seek a therapist (if you so wish) - all three!

Although I am happy to write that the tide is changing, slowly but surely, there is still a misconception that therapy is for those that are really struggling with life or are in crisis. Of course, those are some very valid reasons to go to therapy. Therapy is a tool and ultimately, we all have different tools that we use to feel good and manage, be it dancing, comedy, seeing friends, journalling, eating, drinking, meditation... oh the list goes on and on.

I recently read that wellbeing is a feeling or state of happiness or contentment and I see therapy as just another thing in someone’s toolkit towards that state.

Why therapy?

• Therapy can be part of your journey and growth in getting to know yourself and patterns. It helps you to understand what is going on for you unconsciously, which doesn’t always mean that once you know certain things you have to change it as it may not be a problem. It is just empowering to know why and what you do.

• Therapy can be used as a self-development tool, the very process of working through things with a therapist can challenge you in ways that you may not expect which you can then take out into other relationships in your life. This is because therapy is often a microcosm of how you are relating outside of the therapy room.

• Therapy can be like holding a mirror up, your therapist can facilitate making you aware of things that you may unconsciously be doing or empower you to find solutions that you may not have thought of by guiding you to think about an issue from a different perspective. It is a place where you can work on getting comfortable with yourself and who you are.

• Therapy is for you to bring in not only your struggles but your wins too! It is a place to help you self-define who you feel you are without the judgment or messages from others and begin to celebrate that as and when it shows up!

I sometimes get the impression that people feel that going to therapy needs to be earned or justified by how bad you feel. There are so many reasons why people may feel this way, but I think that the stigma and ideas around mental health feed into that. Mental health is seen as a bad thing rather than just another element of wellness such as physical health. We all have mental health. I wonder how many people think they may be judged for either being in therapy or judged by their therapist for not being ‘that bad’. I promise you a therapist will never be thinking that and will work with you on whatever you want.

It can in fact be beneficial to seek therapy before you get to crisis point. When you’re in a mental space to be able to reflect and prevent getting to that place by seeking help early.

Being in the client chair myself, I have often experienced feeling safe in the knowledge that those 50 minutes are especially for me and that I can talk no holds barred about how I feel without anyone trying to fix me or the problem. I also know that therapists are trained to be able to hold and contain the emotions that come up and are neutral in their feedback and ask the right questions to help me to reflect.

Sometimes, therapy can feel like having a big, cool glass of water when you didn’t even know you were thirsty!

The above are just some of the reasons that you should never feel you don’t deserve to have therapy if you choose to.

If therapy sounds like something you would be interested in, I offer a free 20-minute initial call if you would like to discuss further. You can contact me on ammatherapy@protonmail.com or 07422 168 406.

Take good care of yourself.

Amma