There's No 'Quick Fix'

Change, even if it’s positive, can lead to emotional and physical stress: you find yourself in a situation where you don’t know what to expect and that leads to confusion.

A professional can help you through a situation that feels insurmountable.

Everyone makes missteps and occasionally slips into risky behaviors.

But when you can’t stop a specific behavior, if it’s interfering with your ability to function properly in your daily life, or it’s negatively affecting your relationships, it’s time to pause and seek help.

The connection between a person and his or her animal has long been known to have many benefits, from improving cardiovascular health to calming one. 

Among the goals that a pet therapy program can include: the improvement of motor skills and joint movement and an increase in your happiness level.

Among the individuals who should consider pet therapy are the ones who suffer from chronic heart failure or mental health disorders. However, there are a few risks to be taken into account, such as allergies and injuries that can occur on both humans' and animals' side.

There is a common misconception that going to therapy, you will lie down on a couch, staring at the ceiling, and talk while an emotionless professional sits near you and writes on a notepad.

Most therapists do have couches in their offices. But many people in therapy choose to sit and talk to their therapist, who often responds. 

Some methods of psychotherapy and complex issues may take some time, but many interventions are shorter. Also, many choose to stay in therapy after the issue that brought them has been addressed to better understand themselves and their thoughts.

• Some therapists are just there to listen and provide a backdrop.
• Even the silence that they exhibit seems to kindle the patients into divulging more of their most uncomfortable truths.
• Others keep the sequence of assignments and tests lined up, never pausing.
• Therapists play varied roles to get some valuable information out of the patient and make him better.

No particular form of therapy is proven to be better or more effective than others.

Different people prefer or respond to different forms of therapy.

People who consistently undermine or cause harm to a partner (whether intentionally or not) often have a reason for their behavior, even if it’s subconscious. 

Maybe they were in a toxic relationship, either romantically or as a child. Maybe they didn’t have the most supportive, loving upbringing. They could have been bullied in school. They could be suffering from an undiagnosed mental health disorder.

The most serious warning signs include any form of violence, abuse or harassment, which should be dealt with immediately. But in many cases, the indicators of a toxic relationship are much more subtle: Persistent unhappiness, negative shifts in your mental health, personality or self-esteem, feeling like you can’t talk with or voice concerns to your significant other.

Most therapists are encouraging and emphatic, and some therapy models emphasize this warm support more than others. But not all therapy works this way, therapists also have to challenge and educate clients.

There are many other areas of expertise that require less effort and are more financially rewarding than therapy. Therapists who thrive in this work deeply respect humanity and aren’t driven by money.

Most mental health professionals treat mental illness by combining psychotherapy and medication or by therapy alone. Many clients choose the latter when they don’t need medication or think of it as burdensome. 

Untrained people can’t offer the same mental health benefits as a mental health professional could.

Your mental health is too big a responsibility to place on the people in your life. They will be there for you during hard times, but shouldn’t be a substitute for therapy.

• Understanding how the way we tend to think about things affects our moods and emotions
• Clarifying our values and strategizing about the most effective path toward them
• Learning to communicate directly and assertively in relationships or the workplace
• Building self-confidence in social situations
• Acquiring more effective parenting skills and techniques
• Working through complicated grief or loss

Ultimately, therapy is about growth and creating opportunities for positive change.

And in addition to improving traditional mental health struggles, therapy can also be a powerful and efficient way to make progress on personal goals or aspirations.

You will need to feel safe and secure and establish a connection with your therapist. It is reasonable to try out a few until you find the right one.

The right therapist will encourage and support you in making uncomfortable changes.

Ask your community for mental health specialists recommendations. Consider asking your GP, family, friends or local community.

Once you have a few names, look up their qualifications and read up about them.

Your psychologist's goal is not to keep you on as a client forever but to empower you to function better on your own.

Everyone moves at a different pace during psychotherapy — it’s a very individualized process. 

Psychotherapy may entail exploring past events that may be impacting your life. 

However, in some instances, your psychologist may forgo delving into your past to focus on the current issue that brought you into treatment. You’ll learn to use techniques to change your current thoughts or behaviors contributing to your problem.