Life has a way of coming at us all at once.
You can be going along fine, and something interrupts or blocks your progress out of nowhere. Particularly recently, the pandemic has caused massive disruptions to everyday life.
Unfortunately, we’ll never be able to fully control what happens to us in life. What we can control, however, is how we respond to what life throws at us.
Why Individual Therapy?
Individual therapy is for anyone looking to take ownership of their lives. It helps us manage and overcome the ups and downs life throws at us and pushes us forward to greater self-discovery, healing, and personal growth.
What you want to accomplish in individual therapy is up to you and your counsellor. Maybe you need help processing and healing from old trauma or increasing your ability to be compassionate with yourself or others. Or possibly you get stressed when handling difficult situations or making important life decisions. Many look to counselling to improve their communication and conflict management skills so they can build stronger relationships with others.
Depending on the type of practice a therapist runs, they can assist you with various mental, emotional, and behavioural issues like:
- Anxiety
- Anger
- Addiction
- Abuse
- Challenges with relationships
At Best Self Forward, my work with clients is trauma-informed. I work with clients who want to take active ownership of their lives, work through unhealed trauma, and learn strategies to navigate life’s obstacles.
What is Trauma-Informed Care
Trauma-informed care is one approach to therapy that is grounded in the understanding of the impact trauma has on a patient’s life. Past traumas have a way of sticking someone to the past, unable to move forward. When we leave these traumas untreated, we make it harder to connect with others throughout our lives.
If you’ve ever felt disconnected from everyone else or like something is wrong with you as a person, you might be held back by past traumas.
The goal of trauma-informed care is to create a safe place where you have the opportunity to rebuild and regain a feeling of empowerment. In my practice, I take special precautions to ensure trauma survivors’ physical, psychological, and emotional safety. These precautions can help you feel more engaged with sessions and make your overall experience more enjoyable.
By helping you connect the dots between your past and present, you will develop deeper self-awareness. You’ll learn to process unhealed trauma in a safe environment and grow to see it as a force that can help move you forward in your life.
When Should You Consider Individual Therapy
Everyone’s journey is unique, but I always say that a good time to consider individual therapy is when you’re ready to improve the quality of your life. You don’t have to wait for when you’re stuck in a rut, find yourself at a significant crossroads, or feel continuously lost or adrift in your own life to get started.
You should consider individual therapy if you:
- Can’t seem to figure it all out on your own
- Want to learn effective strategies to self-regulate
- Would like to remove the roadblocks that have prevented you from living the life you want
- Have experienced past trauma and would like to break free from its effects on your life
- Are ready to stop repeating unhealthy patterns and cycles
- Struggle in relationships and want to understand how to go deeper
- Are considering or are in couples therapy and want to deepen your knowledge about yourself to benefit your relationship
Individual Therapy is a Commitment to Yourself
Professional counselling requires an investment of your time and money. When many people consider individual counselling sessions, one of the first things that come to mind is cost. How much are the sessions, will my insurance cover the cost, etc.?
Yes, there is a cost involved, but this is similar to any self-improvement you would undertake, like gym memberships, buying a new wardrobe, or travelling.
A good question to ask yourself is, “Can I afford NOT to invest in myself?” If you’ve gone through life with a feeling that something is missing deep down in your life and relationships, it’s time to take action. Gift yourself a fuller life open to deeper connections and greater life satisfaction.
Consider Online Counseling
Often the financial side of individual therapy is easily covered and what people fail to truly consider is the time commitment involved. Travelling to and from therapy sessions adds extra time to your already busy schedule. However, weeks and months of therapy sessions can take a toll if the therapist’s office is too far away or behind heavy traffic.
Today you have the opportunity to consider online counselling sessions to help alleviate some of the time commitment. You will still need to set some time aside to attend the actual counselling session, but you don’t have to spend time commuting.
This opens up your schedule to even more opportunities. You could schedule your counselling session for late morning or mid-afternoon instead of waiting until after work.
Break Free From What’s Holding You Back
Many of us have been taught throughout our lives that asking for or needing help is a weakness. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Humans require support and assistance from others to truly thrive. You wouldn’t give a second thought to going to a doctor for a broken arm or if you are physically ill. But somehow, we expect ourselves to tough it out on our own if we are emotionally wounded or psychologically hurting.
Often, a helping hand is all that’s needed to help us break free from our past or reach a greater understanding of ourselves.
I applaud you for even beginning to research this journey. Counselling is a personal journey, and getting the right fit for you is crucial. If you’re ready to get started, please reach out to different counsellors to get a feel for what they do and how they operate. You can schedule a free consultation with me, but please don’t stop there. Talk to as many therapists as possible before getting started to find the best counsellor for your needs.
I would love to help you achieve your goals, tap into your innate abilities, and develop the tools and techniques needed to put your best self forward into the world.
Maha Elias is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC), Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC), Comprehensive Family Mediator (FMC), and sexual health and trauma-informed couples therapist with a private counselling practice in Victoria, British Columbia.
