Personal Help
Personal Help
At one point or another, each individual experiences negative feelings or debilitating life events. Individuals in the face of life stressors may find moving forward achievable due to personal characteristics or good social support, but very often some individuals find it difficult to even confront, let alone share the turmoil in our psychological world. The latter may make individuals feel alone, turbulent, distressed and may affect the significant areas of their functioning in life.
Myths around personal help or counselling:
“It is a sign of weakness”
“You can speak to your parents / best friend, it is just about talking”
“One goes to a professional only when there is a disorder”
“Pick up a hobby, it will be like therapy and make you happy”
“You will become dependent on the therapist”
Personal therapy/help is a one-on-one talk therapy session between a therapist and a client. Personal therapy sessions provide a safe space to individuals apart from being strictly confidential. It is an opportunity for individuals to be completely honest with themselves and the therapist in order to heal themselves and work on the pressing concerns effectively. Therapists hold a non-judgmental space for clients and there’s no room for criticism or judgment. The idea is to support the clients and help them reach their goals. As per various research studies, it has been found that talking therapy in terms of working through emotions, thoughts, behaviors, experiences etc. can be more effective than medications in cases of depression, anxiety or self esteem issues. This form of therapy is prevalent in various settings such as hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centres, mental health therapeutic centres etc.
Importance of Personal Help:
- It provides a safe listening environment
- It allows individuals to gain larger perspective
- Helps in learning important life skills
- Helps in discovering personal strengths and ways of utilizing it in other areas
- Empowers you to work through your life situations in a healthy manner
- Helps creating a lasting change
- It can ensure the overall well-being of an individual and improve quality of life
- Helps boost self esteem and optimism
- Individualized treatment plans that are client-centric
- Working through psychological symptoms and managing them effectively
Issues that can be addressed through Personal Help:
- Stress or traumatic life events
- Difficulties coping with stress
- Mental health disorders or concerns
- Relationship distress or marital discord
- Interpersonal conflicts
- Difficulties in understanding or regulating emotions
- Alcohol or drug dependence
- Grieving the loss of a loved one
Various types of psychotherapies and modalities can be utilized in personal therapy such as Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Psychodynamic psychotherapy, Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), etc.