Good psychological and emotional well-being is essential to overall health. When you are taking care of your mental health you have a greater ability to realize your potential, handle life’s challenges, work productively, build strong relationships and make meaningful contributions to society. Therapy can be a part of maintaining emotional and mental health. 

Being emotionally and psychologically healthy doesn’t make you immune to experiencing problems, difficulties or crises. Like everyone else, you or someone in your family may go through disappointments, failures, illnesses, losses, and changes. These challenges are a part of life and can cause grief, anxiety, depression, and other negative effects. Maintaining your mental health is the key to having balanced emotions even during bad times.

When Your Mental Health is Threatened

Life can be stressful, when you experience challenges and distress it can have an impact on how you feel and how you function. It can feel as if your wellness is under attack. When we feel this way, it is important to know we have options. We can choose how we react, no matter how out of control you may feel. 

Counseling can be a helpful way to explore your feelings and the way you react. By working with a trained therapist, you can learn more about your triggers and find ways to react in ways that work better for you. You can learn to live your life more effectively. When your mental health is threatened you have choices. 

When Relief from Supportive People Ends…Therapy Helps

Talking about what you feel and think can be an important part of feeling better. Voicing your worries and being listened to can be healing. It feels good to have supportive people in our lives like family and close friends. 

Unfortunately, the people around you may not always be able to provide the help you need. It may be helpful to talk to a therapist who can help you unlock difficulties, overcome emotional challenges, and to effect positive changes in life. Therapists are professionally trained to listen and to help you understand your underlying concerns. They can help you work through what is getting in your way. Professional counseling can help you to live a more fulfilling life.

Finding the Kind of Therapy That Is Right for You

At the onset of the counseling, you and your therapist can work together to decide the type of therapy that will work best for you based on your feelings, goals, and expectations. Different kinds of counseling are available, and many therapists may use more than one approach. Below are some of the most common types of therapy:

• Individual Counseling focuses on addressing what is affecting you and how you would like to move forward for you. Many bring others to their individual sessions, though the focus is on you and your goals. 
• Child Counseling focuses on working with children to improve symptoms and behaviors. Parents will be involved in sessions in order to affect positive change. Therapists will utilize a variety of approaches often including play therapy, behavioral therapy and cognitive therapy. Parenting sessions and family sessions are also utilized.
• Couples Therapy or Marriage Counseling is for couples in a committed relationship to help them solve relationship concerns and challenges together. Sessions often focus on resolving conflict, building healthy communication, and learning to work out individual differences. ** Note that if you wish to utilize insurance, one partner must have symptoms that meet criteria for a diagnosis. This partner will be the “identified client”. Health insurance will only pay for this kind of counseling if this counseling will improve the identified client’s diagnosis.
• Family Counseling is aimed at resolving concerns and conflicts that exist within the family. It involves treating one or several members of the family to identify the cause of conflict in the system and address them appropriately. It can be a highly effective type of counseling. 
• Cognitive Therapy is also known as cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). It focuses on changing ways of thinking to improve feelings and actions, even if situations can’t be changed. This therapy helps in managing negative thinking patterns that create distressing feelings and behavior.
• Behavior Therapy or behavior modification therapy is the kind of treatment that aims to change potentially unhealthy or destructive behaviors. Therapists use this method to help you learn to replace bad habits with good ones. These approaches can also involve rewards and reinforcement systems for positive behavior.

Can Therapy Help?

Regardless of the type of counseling you go with, therapy can help you and your family to meet your goals and feel better. Recovery is a process that involves some twists and turns, and even relapses. Some habits, especially if they are deeply entrenched, are difficult to break. 

Be patient and don’t lose hope. Counseling can help. Carolina Counseling Services – Fuquay-Varina, NC, contracts with licensed therapists who are skilled in a variety of approaches. Call today to schedule your first appointment.

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