It seems to be all the rage now. Seeing a therapist, mental-wellness, mindfulness… Everyone knows someone who has been, is going or has benefitted immensely from therapy. But what is therapy really?
Therapy isn’t as officious as the word sounds. At least, it shouldn’t to anyone who seeks therapy. Rather, therapy is about talking to someone who has the right skills and knowledge to help you navigate tricky bits of your life. Therapy is when you’ve shared a problem with your close friends or family and still find yourself stuck. Therapy helps you to sort, prioritise and decide on what to do next when things seem particularly complex. Therapy could also be seeking support for symptoms that come with depression or anxiety, grief or loss.
Therapy in a nutshell is as simple as speaking to someone with the capacity to understand and empathise with you.
Thanks, but no, I can do this by myself.
Which is fantastic, and by all means, if you can that is great. But every so often, there’d be things that go wrong, like for example how you dated the wrong guy (again), you just can’t seem to stop worrying about everything or how nothing you do seems good enough for your parent. That’s where speaking to a therapist can help you gain some clarity and insight that may have eluded you while you were figuring things out by yourself.
A therapist does not tell you what to do or give you advice. Instead, a therapist journeys with you to process difficult feelings or situations or just holds a safe space for you to feel free to be vulnerable.
Finally, therapy isn’t about fixing broken things. It’s about gaining the skills and insights you need in order to move forward despite whatever has happened. Therapy can also mean equipping you such that we don’t go around breaking things around us as we plough through our issues.
Written by: Charmaine M.
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