Costs and Benefits of Counseling

In Razing and Rising, I mention that Healthy Survivors "seek guidance and support." What if you've never needed professional counseling before?

Even if you believe you can get through a rough time on your own, consider counseling because:

• You may get through faster and/or more easily.
• Since your relationship with a counselor is professional, you can share thoughts and feelings that would be difficult to share with friends and loved ones.
• Counselors are objective about your situation in ways that are impossible for friends and loved ones.
• Counselors are experienced professionals who, just like athletic coaches, can offer valuable insights and advice that help you reach your full potential.
• You’ll learn skills that can serve you well for the rest of your life.

Tips for optimizing your sessions:

• Prepare for each visit by making a list of what you think are the problems.
• Be completely honest with your counselor. The more your counselor knows, the faster he or she can understand you and your situation.
• After the visit, find time to review what you learned.
• When appropriate, share what you learned with loved ones.

Counseling is hard work. In many cases, not getting counseling is harder work. Expect sessions to cause heightened emotions in the short run. Remind yourself that you will end up in a better place.

Comments

[Andrea Gauthier]

Well put!

[Debby]

Good one! Thank you for presenting the benefits of counseling no matter your circumstance. We all find ways to rationalize and get through troubled times on our own unnecessarily.

Blessings
Debby
http://www.twitter.com/DebbyBruck

[Grace]

This is a great post! As a Hodgkin's survivor, who's never needed counseling, I had a really hard time 'accepting' that I needed help. I chose an oncology counselor at our cancer center, and the difference has been incredible. Just to hear that what I'm experiencing is 'normal' for a recent survivor makes me feel like everything will be just fine. I will never shake my head at counseling again.

[Wendy S. Harpham, M.D.]

Dear Grace,
I appreciate your sharing your story as a testament to the notion that counseling can help normal, psychologically healthy people get through a challenge more easily, more safely and/or more quickly. With hope, Wendy