Pathways for Healing: How therapy can Help
What is Cognitive Behavior Therapy or CBT and how does it help us?
CBT is an evidence based model of therapy which seeks to identify errors in our thinking that impact our feelings and behaviors. The cognitive triangle assists us to create awareness of and ultimately change the way we think to a more positive approach. By changing our thought processes we are better able to access coping skills and identify strategies and solutions and improve our mood and outlook.
Solution Focused Therapy and what this can do for you…
In addition to CBT, solution focused practice can help individuals to focus on the solution instead of the problem. This is also an evidence based approach which seeks to formulate goals, finding the motivation to take small steps towards those goals, find resources to support goal achievement, determine what has worked and not worked in the past for the individual, remove barriers and ultimately sustained achievement of the goal.
Motivational Interviewing or MI as a way to determine motivation for change…
Yet another evidence based approach to help us move towards change in our lives. This is a collaborative approach where the individual and the practitioner work together to identify motivations for change and pathways in which to make those changes. It is seen as a style of communication to empower people to evaluate the importance of change in their lives. MI searches for ambivalence and confidences levels for change and to resolve any conflicts between the two.
Strength based approaches, holistic and person centered…
This approach focuses attention on an individual’s strengths, assets, resources and supports, instead of on any deficits. This approach works from the foundation that we all have an inherent ability to learn, change and grow. The helping relationship in this practice is the foundation for partnership and collaboration, viewing the individual as the expert on themselves and someone that is resilient and able to make their own choices for their wellbeing.
Mindfulness and Meditation what it can do for our mental health…
This is a practice of staying in the present. As humans, we often worry about the past or project into the future. Mindfulness practices help us to stay grounded in the moment, slowing down in order to process and find a more centered and calm state of being. This can be accomplished with guided meditation, deep breathing, and acceptance. These are evidence based practices that are used for a variety of both mental and physical health conditions such as; anxiety, depression, stress, and chronic health conditions.
Self-care deficits and the benefits of having an active plan to take better care of ourselves…
The act of caring for oneself seems like it should be a given, something that is easy for us to accomplish, however it is not, in fact its complex. Self-care practices are a challenge for many reasons, busy lives and time constraints, depressive symptom’s, negative thinking around not deserving time to oneself, and putting others before ourselves. Good self-care habits include areas such as nutrition, sleep, exercise. Self-care is not limited to these areas, it is so much more. It means taking care of all parts of ourselves physically and emotionally. It is about taking care of you, doing things your enjoy because we all know, you cannot pour from an empty cup.
Couples counseling…
This form of counseling offers the benefits of improving communication, understanding one another’s love languages and needs, and working towards common goals. Couples work begins with assessment of relationship satisfaction, intimacy, respect, and areas of conflict. Working with a therapist can assist in developing a plan to increase understanding, improve communication, and identifying strategies to make changes. Goals are set in collaboration with your therapist.
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Areas of Struggle: Who therapy helps.
Anxiety comes in all forms. It typically involves worry and fear. It can cause both physical and emotional symptoms. Common psychological symptoms of anxiety include; nervousness, feeling keyed up or on edge, feeling restless or irritable, trouble focusing or concentrating, overthinking, racing thoughts, . Some potential physical symptoms are increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, difficulty sleeping and changes in appetite, stomach upset, sweating and trembling. Causes for anxiety include genetic pre-disposition, psychological or developmental causes, genetics, and environment. Everyone experiences anxiety differently and your symptom’s are unique to you. Therapy will explore triggers to your anxiety and work to identify coping strategies that help to mitigate symptoms.
Stress, while it feels similar to anxiety in many ways, is a more transient state. When feeling stressed, individuals often feel overwhelmed by demands of their home and work lives, which causes emotional and mental symptoms they feel unable to cope with. Stress is a normal reaction of the body to change and can help us to adjust to new situations. Stress and anxiety can be helpful in keeping us alert and ready to face challenges, feel more motivated and increase our performance. Unfortunately, when under prolonged stress without access to strategies and coping mechanisms it can become problematic. Stress management skill building aids an individual to reboot and restore balance.
Depression, similar to anxiety, can be experienced differently by each individual. Someone who is feeling depressed will often report sadness, low mood, fatigue, low energy, loss of interest in pleasurable activities, difficulty sleeping and changes in appetite, and hopelessness. Depression can be caused by biochemical imbalances, genetic pre-disposition, personality factors, and situational exposure. Therapy can help individual to work on understanding potential causes and triggers to their symptoms, as well as to learn ways to boost mood and cope with their feelings more effectively.
Life Transitions impact everyone. We’ve all heard the old saying that the only constant in life is change. Changes occur in our lives, both big and small on a reoccurring basis and can be planned or unplanned. They can come in the form of exciting new endeavors such as a new job, retirement, getting married, becoming a parent, purchasing a home or in more distressing forms such as loss of a loved one, a pandemic, unemployment, and health related challenges. Whether positive and planned or distressing and unplanned, life transitions can be create stress and emotional challenges. Therapy can help us understand how to prepare as much as possible for transitions, to set realistic expectations and goals, create structure or routine to better manage the changes, use our supports and resources, develop coping skills and practice self-care.
Relationships are a part of all of our lives in some way or another. While having relationships can be rewarding, they can also create stress in our lives. Learning to navigate the ebbs and flows of our relationships assists in maintaining important connections, learn how to express our needs, as well as set healthy boundaries. Navigating both difficult and rewarding relationships at home and in the world is essential to human kind.
With all that we face daily in our lives, sometimes we just need assistance to navigate and process. Part of any good therapy supports the identification, development and implementation of healthy coping strategies and a good self-care plan. Everyone copes differently and the toolbox you create in therapy should include what works for you.