When to seek psychotherapy
Sometimes you need to talk to someone, someone
who can help... When you feel like you can't do it alone... When you feel
trapped, like there's nowhere to turn... When you worry all the time, and
never seem to find the answers... When the way you feel is affecting your
sleep, your eating habits, your job, your relationships, your everyday
life... When even the advice offered by family or well-meaning friends
doesn't really help you feel any better.
Recognizing the need for professional help is a good first step towards
improvement. Therapy can be of real benefit, providing help for a wide
range of problems such as depression, loss, marital strife, parent-child
concerns, or emotional distress. It can also help fulfill aspirations for
personal growth or self-improvement. Therapy has one clear and definite
purpose: that something of positive value and constructive usefulness will
come out of it for you. A
goal of therapy should be to enable you to cope at a higher level with
your environment and gain more control over your life.
What are some of the most common reasons for seeking help from therapy?
Emotional Distress
From time to time, everyone experiences emotional pain. But sometimes the
distress is particularly severe or long lasting and interferes with your
ability to function in your daily life. If you are experiencing sadness,
grief, or anxiety that is persistent, therapy can help relieve the
symptoms, address the underlying causes for your distress, and provide you
with help in restoring emotional well-being.
Personal Growth
Therapy can help you overcome obstacles that have kept you from reaching
your goals and becoming the person you want to be. Although you might not
have a clinical condition or symptoms, therapy can help you learn more
about yourself, as well as others, and how you can live your life with
deeper personal satisfaction. It
can identify how you are perceived in relationships and how you would like
to be perceived.
Relationship Issues
Your distress may be coming from difficulties in your relationship with a
spouse, parent, child, co-worker or significant other. Therapy can be
valuable in helping you understand the root of the problem and providing
you with the understanding and skills you need to improve the
relationship.
Coping Mechanisms
Sometimes emotional distress or relationship problems are associated with
coping mechanisms, such as excessive shyness, weak communication, lack of
assertiveness, or poor anger control. Therapy enables you to acquire or
strengthen skills that can benefit many of the most important areas of
your life.
Loss
Experiencing a break from someone who is important to you (through death
or separation) can result in great emotional pain. Therapy can be
significantly helpful in coping with the loss.
Trauma, Violence or Abuse
Victims of trauma, violence or abuse can feel so overwhelmed by feelings
of fear, anger, or helplessness that their ability to function effectively
is significantly impaired. Therapy can help provide a safe, confidential
setting in which to discuss your victimization issues with a caring,
supportive person and find ways to move forward with your life.
Sexual Problems
While they can be embarrassing to talk about, sexual dissatisfaction and
sexual dysfunction are very common problems. There are therapists who are
particularly experienced at helping with understanding and overcoming
issues that may be impairing sexual functioning.
Clinical Disorder or Condition
Those who have certain disorders or conditions can benefit from an overall
treatment plan which includes therapy and another form of treatment, such
as medication. For instance, research shows that individuals with
conditions such as ADHD, eating disorders, major depression or anxiety
disorders benefit significantly more from a combination of therapy and
medication than just medication alone.
Please call (703) 550-4848 for additional information or to schedule an appointment. For directions to my office location click HERE
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