Have you been thinking about seeing a therapist, but you are not sure how a therapist could even benefit you? Whether you are dealing with a challenging life event, want to address various symptoms and emotions, or work on relationships, therapy can help you. Read on to learn more about the benefits of therapy.
Why therapy is good for your overall well-being
Therapy is able to help you improve your overall well-being with time. There are various discussions a therapist will have with you depending on your presenting concern, but therapy can help improve your sleep, increase your life satisfaction and happiness, and improve your physical health. Therapy is able to improve your sleep by working with you to create a sleep routine and improve your sleep-wake cycle. Sometimes, simply having conversations about what is on your mind can improve your sleep alone.
Therapy can also improve your life satisfaction and happiness, similar to how sleep is improved. Your therapist can work with you on processing life moments, situations, emotions, and feelings. Understanding why you feel the way you feel can be cathartic and decrease negativity in your life. Therapy can also improve your overall physical health as your therapist might assign “homework” of exercising more, eating healthier, and monitoring your screen time. Having someone that can hold you accountable for your actions weekly can help improve motivation and in turn, increase your good habits and overall mental and physical health.
Skills are one of the benefits of therapy
Therapy does not only involve processing our feelings and emotions, but it involves learning skills to help us tackle various situations as they come up in our lives. With therapy, depending on your presenting concern, you can learn communication skills, coping skills, and how to resolve conflict. Communication skills one could learn in therapy include how to appropriately speak when you are feeling frustrated, unheard, or upset. An example could be the use of “I” statements, or using the DEAR MAN technique for the best way to approach a difficult conversation.
These communication skills, and more, can be taught and practiced with your therapist. Coping skills are important for use when we are experiencing overpowering emotions that we feel we do not have control over, such as overwhelming anxiety, panic attacks, and depressive symptoms. Coping skills one could learn in therapy could be the use of behavioral substitution, relaxation techniques, deep breathing techniques, and reframing our thoughts.
Overall improvement
Therapy can improve our overall mental, emotional, and physical health every day. Therapists teach their clients various techniques and strategies to increase feelings of empowerment, increase self-esteem, improve relationships with friends and family, increase self-awareness, and change negative thought patterns to keep us out of a rut. Whether you think you have significant traumas to talk about in therapy, or are struggling to stay motivated and want to talk about smaller challenges in therapy, there is a benefit to therapy for everything. From learning how to communicate better to learning coping skills for various emotions, therapists can teach, lead, guide, and assist you in whatever way you need. Reach out to one of Barnum Counseling’s therapists today if you think any one of these benefits of therapy intrigue you. It is never too late to start making a change today.
About Therapist Bethany Winter, MA, LPC Barnum Counseling
Ashley Olivine, P. D. (2022, March 25). 8 benefits of therapy. Verywell Health. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://www.verywellhealth.com/benefits-of-therapy-5219732
Kate Rosenblatt, M. A. (2023, April 20). 12 rewarding benefits of therapy. Talkspace. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://www.talkspace.com/blog/benefits-of-therapy/
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