Why choose counseling?
Written by Jim Gerakinis,MA, LLP, Ed.S, MTS
I still remember her shouting at me in our first session. “If you can can convince me that talking about my problem will make it better I’ll come back, otherwise I’m done”. As a beginning therapist I didn’t quite know how to respond. Was she right? Does merely talking about the problem do any good? Was I wasting her time and money? Why choose counseling?
Maybe you’ve had the same question when thinking about going to counseling. What’s the use? It’s just talk, isn’t it? Isn’t it better to just go out and do something about it? Maybe you are a Christian and have been told that you need to just pray or read your Bible and it will all work out. Since those days as a new therapist I have learned a few things that have helped me give these individuals more hope for their situations and reasons for the importance of counseling.
Counseling can be efficient
Choose counseling because it is helpful to state your problem to someone who is trained to be non-judgmental in order for you to more efficiently sort out your problem. Someone that can reflect the main points and help you sort out what are some key things to consider can be very productive and help you avoid unwise decisions. (Prov. 15:22)
Counseling can help you see that you are not alone
I rarely hear an issue that is totally new to my experience. Certain aspects are original, however, most of the time certain patterns supported by research and human experience give us insights on how to best deal with certain issues. God’s Word tells us that “there is nothing new under the sun”. (Ecc. 1:9)
A Christian counselor can point you to God
I once heard a story of a little girl who told her mom that praying seemed so distant and she liked telling her problems to her mom because she needed someone with “skin on”. Sometimes we need personal interaction in order to be encouraged to give our needs to God as the ultimate healer. (Prov. 11:14)
What is God teaching me through this?
God works through his Word as well as through individuals who point us to truth. We usually don’t learn as much about ourselves on the “highs” of the mountain top experiences as much as sometimes the “lows” of the “valley” or the “pits”.
“Am I missing something?”
Someone trained in mental health can help you assess if you have something else going on that needs attention. That is one of the main reasons of why to choose counseling. Often depression, anxiety, wrong thinking or other physical causes can keep us from seeing the truth of our situation clearly. A competent counselor can help you rule out if there are other factors that may have been missed.
