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Many people seek help in therapy when they're in a crisis.
A crisis might involve a loss in their life or a major change where they're struggling to cope (see my article: How a Crisis Can Bring Positive Change in Your Life).
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| The Benefits of Attending Experiential Therapy |
But aside from seeking help in therapy in a crisis, there are many benefits to attending therapy even when you're not in a crisis, which I discuss in this article.
The Benefits of Attending Experiential Therapy
If you're considering beginning therapy, here are some of the rewarding benefits:
Treat Mental Health Conditions
Putting your well-being first and getting the help you need is a sign of strength (see my article: Common Misconceptions About Psychotherapy: Going to Therapy Means You're "Weak").
Some people who need help don't come to therapy because they're afraid of the stigma, but there's a lot more psychoeducation now that there should not be a stigma involved with going to therapy and the alternative, which often means remaining unhappy is much worse (see my article: Mental Health Awareness: Reducing the Stigma of Getting Help in Therapy).
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| The Benefits of Attending Experiential Therapy |
Anxiety and depression have increased, especially since the pandemic, so if you're feeling anxious or depressed, you're experiencing problems that millions of people are also expeirencing.
There are safe and effective modalities of therapy to treat anxiety and depression, so you don't need to suffer alone (see my article: Self Help Tips on How to Cope With Anxiety).
One of the most common problems is unresolved trauma--whether it's a new experience of trauma or, more often, an unresolved trauma from earlier in life that continues to affect them now (see my article: How Past Unresolved Trauma Can Affect How You Feel Now).
The good news is that there are specific types of trauma therapy that have been developed specifically for unresolved trauma.
These modalities are known for being Mind-Body Oriented therapies which are also called Experiential Therapy:
Develop Coping Skills and Strategies
Whether you want to improve your overall coping skills and internal resources or you want to learn to cope with a particular problem, working with a skilled psychotherapist can help you to preserve your sense of well being.
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| Developing Coping Skills in Experiential Therapy |
Depending upon how your therapist works, here are just a few of the coping skills, strategies and internal resources you can develop in Experiential Therapy:
Develop Increased Self Awareness
Self awareness is part of emotional intelligence (see my article: How to Develop Emotional Intelligence).
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| Developing Self Awareness in Experiential Therapy |
Learning to be self aware can help you to understand yourself as well as the impact you have on others, including your loved ones (see my article: What is Self Awareness?).
Developing increased self awareness is a skill you can learn.
Self awareness includes:
- Being able to tap into your own thoughts and feelings
- Recognizing your personal strengths and areas where you have challenges (see my article: Discovering Your Personal Strengths in Psychotherapy)
- Recognize self limiting beliefs you have about yourself so you can work on changing them
- Recognizing how your thoughts, feelings and behavior affect others
Learn to Handle Your Emotions
Emotional regulation is an important skill you can learn in psychotherapy, especially in Experiential Therapy (see my article: Learning to Manage Your Emotions).
Emotional regulation includes understanding and managing your emotions so your emotions don't overwhelm you or cause you to engage in impulsive behavior.
Experiential therapy can help you to manage triggers that cause you to feel emotionally dysregulated.
See my article:Responding Instead of Reacting to Stress).
Learn to Overcome Negative Thoughts About Yourself and Improve Self Esteem
Everyone has negative thoughts once in a while, but if you tend to have negative thoughts about yourself often, psychotherapy can help you to overcome these habitual thoughts and increase your self esteem (see my article: How Psychotherapy Can Help You to Change the Negative (Distorted) Stories You Tell Yourself).
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| Focusing on Inner World to Improve Self Esteem |
Improve Communication Skills
People who attend psychotherapy often develop increased self awareness which, in turn, improves their interactions with others so they can communicate their thoughts and feelings more effectively (see my article: Improving Communication in Your Relationship: How to Stop Defensive Behavior).
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| Improving Communication Skills |
Develop Stronger Relationships
With increased self awareness and improved communication skills, you're more likely to develop stronger relationships.
You can gain insight into how your behavior affects your relationship and, if you need to make improvements in this area, learn how to change behavior that might be contributing to a negative cycle in your relationship.
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| Developing a Stronger Relationship |
You can also learn how to set healthy boundaries in your relationships as well as accept the healthy boundaries that people in your life are setting for themselves (see my article: How to Set Healthy Boundaries Without Guilt or Shame).
Learn to Accept Healthy Support
Psychotherapy can help you to learn how to accept positive healthy emotional support.
People who grew up in families where they had little to no emotional support or where they couldn't trust emotional support often have problems trusting anyone to give them emotional support because getting healthy support is unfamiliar to them (see my article: Can You Learn to Trust Your Therapist If You Couldn't Trust Your Family?).
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| Learning to Accept Healthy Support in Experiential Therapy |
You and your therapist can develop a healthy therapeutic alliance over time so that you can develop trust in your therapist and the therapeutic process (see my article: 10 Tips on How to Open Up to Your Therapist).
After you have learned to accept healthy support in therapy, you can learn to choose healthy relationships where you can get and give emotional support.
Improve Your Mental and Physical Health
Due to the mind-body connection, there is a strong connection between mental health and physical health and therapy can help you to improve both.
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| Improving Your Mental and Physical Health |
For instance, by improving how you handle stress, it's possible for you to improve your sleep and possibly lower your blood pressure (see my article: Tips on How to Improve Your Sleep).
Getting Help in Therapy
If you have been struggling on your own to overcome problems, you could benefit from getting help from a skilled mental health professional.
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| Getting Help in Experiential Therapy |
An experienced psychotherapist can help you to overcome your problems so you can live a more fulfilling life.
So, rather than struggling on your own, seek help from a licensed psychotherapist.
About Me
I am a licensed New York psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT, Somatic Experiencing and Sex Therapist.
With over 20 years of experience, I have helped many individual adults and couples to live more fulfilled lives.
One of my specialties is helping clients to overcome trauma.
I use an integrative approach to psychotherapy so that clients can have the best possible experience (see my article: The Benefits of Integrative Psychotherapy).
To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.
To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.
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