Statistically, psychotherapy has been shown to be highly effective in allowing people to enjoy lasting understanding of themselves and relief from powerful negative emotions and mental distress. Psychotherapy is talk therapy and there are several types of professionals who are trained to provide it in Hawaii, including Mental Health Counselors, Clinical Psychologists, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Social Workers.
Here are a few additional reasons you might choose to consult a counselor for therapy, and these reasons don’t always show up in research reports:
-In our society, there are minimal opportunities to spend time speaking honestly and openly about oneself and one’s experiences, in a quiet and confidential environment, with the clear aim of personal growth and healing. This is especially true if those experiences are deeply personal, private, troubling, traumatic, disruptive, or else cause us to feel shame, doubt, guilt, regret, fear, sorrow, anger, and so on.
-A relationship with a professional therapist is privileged, private, and confidential, which means that what you share about yourself is protected vigilantly by the therapist. This is not something that most other types of relationships guarantee to those seeking emotional, mental, behavioral, or spiritual help.
-The therapist’s focus in working with you will be your growth and healing, and this focus will be communicated and sustained throughout your work together, whether the work lasts for a few weeks or a few years. The therapeutic relationship is a rare setting in which the individual seeking support gets full attention, carefully tuned listening, undisturbed time, honest reflection, and serious professional consideration as a matter of course.
-As challenging as the things that come up in therapy may sometimes be, the time you invest working with a compassionate therapist, counselor, or social worker has the strong and predictable effect of improving your quality of life progressively, dependably, and lastingly. And this is borne out by statistical research.
If you’ve been asking yourself “Why try therapy?” maybe now you’ve got a few more straightforward reasons why it could be worth a try.
