Heather’s been listening and was shocked to recently hear an educated woman say that she asked her husband if she needed to go to therapy: was she crazy? I thought those days were over – a thing of the past. Perhaps if you lived in Toronto you remember 999 Queen Street West – a psychiatric hospital and most people kept their distance from it and referred to ‘the crazy people’ who were being treated there. When it opened in 1850, can you believe what it was named? The Provincial Lunatic Asylum. Of course this was a time when the topic of mental health was something not talked about. In fact the only words used to describe people with a mental health problem were crazy, loonie, insane.

Fortunately, mental health has found more and more acceptance, particularly as more and more well-known and respected people share in the media how it has affected them and how the professional and personal support they found has made such a tremendous difference in their lives. In other words, peoples’ mental health is definitely okay to talk about. In fact it’s important to talk about. More and more people talk openly about therapy and the positive changes it has made in their lives.

BUT LET’S GET MORE SPECIFIC HERE AND ANSWER THE QUESTION ABOVE:

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU NEED THERAPY OR NOT

With a background of over 40 years working as a clinician and psychotherapist, let me give you my perspective on this question. This is such a good – and normal – question that people of every age, gender, cultural and economic background ask. I can sum it up this way: IF SOMETHING IS BOTHERING YOU AND YOU HAVE TRIED WITHOUT SUCCESS TO CHANGE IT AND YOU WANT TO CHANGE IT, DO SOME THERAPY! AS HUMANS IT IS NATURAL TO TRY TO SOLVE THINGS ON OUR OWN. AND WHEN WE CAN, WE FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT AND WELL WE SHOULD.

DO YOU KNOW MANY PEOPLE THINK CALLING A THERAPIST MEANS YOU ARE A LOSER, A WEAKLING, SOMEONE WHO CAN’T SOLVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS. NOT TRUE!!!! IT TAKES COURAGE AND SELF-CONFIDENCE TO SAY TO YOURSELF: YOU DON’T LIKE HOW YOU ARE FEELING, YOU HAVE TRIED YOUR BEST AND NOW YOU ARE GOING TO REACH OUT BECAUSE YOU WANT TO FEEL BETTER!!

NO REASON IS TOO BIG OR TOO SMALL TO NOT CALL A THERAPIST. IF IT’S BOTHERING YOU, THAT’S REASON ENOUGH. IF IT’S SMALL YOU WILL PROBABLY NEED ONLY A COUPLE OF SESSIONS TO DEAL WITH IT. IF IT’S LARGE YOUR THERAPIST WILL HELP YOU BREAK IT DOWN INTO MANAGEABLE PIECES. YOU CAN DO EACH PIECE OR ONLY ONE PIECE AT A TIME – YOUR DECISION.

But to answer the question above: “HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU NEED THERAPY’, let me share my perspective as a clinician and therapist with more than forty years in practice.

_II