Therapy continues to be a mystery to people. I think it’s the way it has been viewed by individuals who’ve not done it as a privilege afforded only to wealthy people. Well, the truth is for me, a professional mental health therapist and life coach, about 98% of my therapy clientele consists of millennials- some of whom are in the high-income range earners, and some who are in the mid-level income earning brackets. Yet, both groups continue to wow me with their commitment to seek professional, specialized mental health care.
My clients come from a broad spectrum of people from around the world—the northeast, the mid-west, the south, the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa. I’m amazed at the generational bonds they’ve decided to break by doing something their parents never considered nor proposed to do (some of that is culturally impact and some of that is systemic racism).
So, I want to use this time to help demystify a few things that people receive by coming to therapy. First, let me say that I’m still a certified life coach, so you will continue to “get coached” here, but by now, you also know that I’m a psychotherapist and with this month being Mental Health Awareness Month for People of Color I wanted to provide a few messages about healing.
A Few Ways Psychotherapy Transforms More Than Just Your Problems
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- It can enhance your intuition.
- It can help you solve problems for yourself that seemed impossible to solve in the past.
- It can bring restful sleep into your life.
- It can help you develop confidence in yourself.
- It can teach you how to set and assert boundaries within your relationships.
- It can show you things about your life and personality that you enjoy and grow to love.
- It can give you the ability to communicate effectively with others.
- It can teach you about the things you want and don’t want for yourself.
- It can help you develop social skills you may have felt you’ve lacked.
- It can give you insight into your family and interpersonal relationships so you know how to healthily engage them.
- It can enhance your intuition.
Being your authentic self takes cultivating a sense of yourself you may not be aware exists. Yet, therapy can help with that. You don’t need to be in crisis to go to therapy and you don’t have to limit yourself to one view of what “support” looks like. If you haven’t known anyone yet who’s been in therapy, find a therapist online that you can follow, or take up a podcast such as Therapy for Black Girls podcast as a first step.
Until next time Village,
Asha…
*This blog is about becoming free. It’s a reflection of introspective thoughts and experiences that have crossed miles of self-discovery. I created this blog to inspire others to live life with less self-criticism, judgment and openness to new experiences. May you find that you learn how to live a life by design and on your own terms!*