“I don’t need therapy.” Maybe you’ve said this to yourself or someone else before. I remember well some challenging times in my life when I said this very statement: “I don’t need therapy.” I also remember times in my life when I did need therapy and I took the brave steps to make that happen. With the benefit of hindsight, I have clarity on the ways in which this support was necessary at certain times and the ways it would have helped during a time or two when I thought it wasn’t “needed.” It’s no surprise that a therapist is all about therapy, but, when do we “need” it and when don’t we?
Do You Need Therapy? Understanding When It’s Time for Support
Does everyone need therapy at some point in their lives? Does talking to a friend or relative help just as much? What about diagnosis? Does everyone need a mental health diagnosis to receive therapeutic support? These are some of the questions I hear frequently. Without going too far down a rabbit hole, I’ll say this: the mental health field has changed and is changing A LOT. Like many changes, this can create some uncertainty for people. The good news is that options for support are increasing. My hope is that the information shared here can support you in these ways:
- Recognize where your current needs fall in the continuum of mental health and wellness services available.
- Tune into your own inner guidance so you can hear that whisper toward your next steppingstone.
- Expand your understanding of therapeutic support and contrast this with standard one-hour-per-week therapy.
How to Recognize Your Mental Health Needs: A Screening Tool
Let’s dive right into how you’re experiencing day-to-day life right now. I specialize in helping people overcome stress and anxiety, so we’ll focus on that. This screening tool specifically looks at anxiety or worry. To do this, go through this checklist and calculate your results:
How often have you been bothered by the following over the past two weeks:
GAD-7 Anxiety Self-Screening Checklist
*Keep in mind: Screening tools are just tools. They are not a substitute for discussing your unique circumstances and experiences with someone who can help you consider the nuances. This is really important. In an age where we consult social media and technology more than people, consulting with a person who will take the time to truly understand your experience is vital to optimal wellbeing. Request a free consultation today.
Tuning into Your Inner Guidance for Mental Wellbeing
So, what if your score was mild? Does it mean you wouldn’t benefit from therapy? In a word, no. Again, screening measures are tools. Sometimes we underestimate how we’re feeling when we take them, sometimes we’re in a really good mood when we take them but have stress other times of the week or month, and sometimes there are other reasons why our “score” doesn’t necessarily reflect the benefits we could receive from seeking support.
No matter what score came up on your screen, I want you to take this time to pause. Sit with how you feel in your body right now. What sensations are there? What thoughts are around? What questions, curiosities, fears, hopes, possibilities are there? Feel into whatever comes up for each of these prompts. Now, ask yourself: “What next step has my greatest wellbeing at heart?”
Expanding Your Understanding of Therapeutic Support Beyond One-Hour Sessions
Do you know your next step? Or, is it still a little fuzzy? Either answer is totally fine! While you’re considering that, let’s travel a little further into expanding awareness of what therapeutic support is available. This way, you can make an even more informed decision once you know what’s out there.
Beyond the standard one-hour-per-week of therapy, which we often visualize as someone sitting on a couch, or more recently, sitting behind a screen for teletherapy from the comfort of your own home, there is a vast array of therapeutic support available. To be clear, a standard one-hour-per-week of therapy can be incredibly beneficial. Finding the right fit in a therapist who has the capacity and the skill to be present with you as you work through stressors, toward goals, and begin to experience progress is such a gift. Finding support that can go even beyond that level of service can be life-changing. And, it doesn’t require an anxiety diagnosis. It actually doesn’t require any diagnosis.
Here’s the thing: there are so many amazing complementary, holistic, revitalizing ways to approach our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing that are outside-the-box of traditional mental health support. What if you had someone who understood the interplay of all these dimensions of wellness and could help you harmonize your life? What if you had focused, dedicated support that was customized to your life phase, the seasons of nature, and accounted for the complexities of human experience? What if you could meet outside and go for walks while working on your goals? What if you had access to a community of like-minded people who also want joy in life? You are inherently worthy of that. All of that. You don’t need a label. You don’t need a score. You need a therapeutic approach that deeply resonates with you. That incorporates your values system. That accounts for where you find joy in life and lets you light up again.
Therapeutic support is not about fixing what’s broken. You are not broken. You are a whole person, who needs holistic and authentic support. You need presence, awareness, care, authenticity, compassion, and empowerment. You need community, nature, opportunities to rest and retreat, to feel the sun on your face and the gentle breeze on your back, to feel part of something greater and connected to meaning and purpose. Don’t we really all need that?
So, the question really isn’t whether you need therapy or not. The question becomes, are you ready to extend the branches of support available to you? Are you ready to say “yes” to your wellbeing? To move beyond surviving to thriving? Are you ready to gain clarity about the life you envision, and start taking one step at a time toward that vision?
I’m ready! And, I’m so excited to be with you on that path. Reach out to me today. I am right here, waiting to watch your life blossom and see you thrive!
Before we part ways for today, here are three specific ways you can receive holistic support that go beyond the traditional offerings:
- Schedule a complimentary consult call with me so we can talk about areas you’d like to feel supported. This can include meeting regularly online or in nature. The therapeutic support I provide is highly customized to meet you where you are.
- If you’re a mom or soon-to-be mom: Check out our monthly Flourish in Motherhood walking group. This is a great place to be in community with other moms, practice mindfulness, and connect with nature. P.S.- babies are welcome to join!
- For support that shifts with you throughout all of the seasons, check out our In Step with the Seasons nature therapy program with Acupuncture & Wellness Center. Each season we get together weekly for 6 weeks to spend time in outside, sync with what’s happening in nature, incorporate widsom from principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, practice mindfulness and learn tools for holistic wellbeing.
We are always adding innovative and effective ways to experience therapeutic support. We also welcome special requests for groups and workshops, including workplace wellness. Stay tuned for what’s on the horizon! Looking forward to connecting with you very soon.
In Support,
Lauren Bathgate, LCSW-C, PMH-C
Founder- Guided in Nature LLC
