Therapy; What it is and What it isn't

Therapy is not what you see on tv or movies. Sure, you might sit on a couch and talk to someone, but therapy has changed to become more adaptive and authentic to the therapist and the client. 

Let’s start with what therapy isn’t. 

Therapy isn’t the therapist giving you advice on what to do in your life. We aren’t an all knowing wizard who can predict what your future will look like (no matter how helpful that would be). You, the client, are in control of what will happen next in your life.

Therapy isn’t robotic. The therapist is not there to be a blank slate and give you no reaction or authentic sense of self. This is something of the past. Therapists believe that the most important agent of change is the relationship. How can you build that relationship with a blank wall? You can’t. 

Therapy isn’t all trauma work. People come to therapy for a wide variety of reasons. Just because you didn’t experience a huge traumatic experience doesn’t mean you can’t come to therapy.

Therapy isn’t like Jason Segel’s version of therapy in Shrinking (no Jimmying going on here). The relationship has boundaries and stays in the therapy room. As much as the therapist cares about each and every client, we must maintain those boundaries to maintain a healthy therapeutic relationship. 

Therapy isn’t easy. It takes work and dedication to yourself. Yes, there are sessions where there will be laughing because we are human, but other sessions might be full of crying or other intense feelings. Both are healing, which is what makes therapy so unique.

Now, let’s talk about what therapy actually is.

Therapy is finding coping skills and emotional outlets that you will actually use in those times when your brain just won’t shut off or the emotions are at an all time high. We start out by finding what will work best for your brain specifically so you know how to calm the brain outside of session.

Therapy is relational. Building a therapeutic relationship with each other is key in order for you and your nervous system to feel safe in the room. Your brain and body need to feel safe before healing can truly happen. We will take our time to make sure every part of you feels safe before we dive into the heavy stuff.

Therapy is the therapist walking your growth and healing path alongside you. This might look like gently challenging you to help the brain see unhealthy patterns, or it could look like validation of emotions while also teaching you ways to cope with or regulate those emotions the next time they occur. The goal is to find ways to move forward through life feeling more like yourself than when you first started therapy. 

Therapy is different for everyone. There’s no right way to do therapy. You will be met wherever you are each session. No pressure. We go at your pace. One session might be processing focused and the next could be focused on learning skills to move through life. 

As you can see, therapy might be way different than what you have seen or been told about therapy. These are just a few examples. There are several more nuances. Maybe it’s time to see what therapy looks like for yourself!