Am I ready for therapy?

​You’ve been thinking about starting therapy.
You’ve had a browse around the directories and saved a few counsellors that sounded like they offer what you need. A week goes by, then 2, 1 month, 2 months, 6 months, before you know it a year has passed.
Those prospective counsellor profiles sit in your saved section gathering technological dust, all the while the stress, anxiety, pressure, negative thoughts and feelings have mounted up and become your “normal.”
As friendly as those smiles might be, it can still be difficult to take the leap into sending that initial email or dialling that phone number. It is a daunting prospect to consider what it might be like to open up to a stranger, confront yourself and all that you have been “managing” on your own, perhaps you’ve convinced yourself that you can “handle this.” Here’s a gentle reminder, you and your emotions do not need to be “managed” or “handled,” perhaps you just need a space to unravel a busy mind and sit with those often uncomfortable yet insightful emotions, maybe have a cry, or even a scream in the safety of the therapy space.

Baby Steps

We might see what is best for us, but rarely is it as simple as reaching out and grabbing it.
Having sat in the client chair over the years, I am all too familiar with that leap between pressing the send button on an email or waiting with anxious anticipation for that introductory call.
Perhaps you are not sure about what you might say in those first few therapy sessions or when you hear that "hello" on an introductory call, as a therapist I can reassure you it is not all about what you say, there are so many other processes at play within that space between you and the counsellor. The silent nods of understanding, the knowing how hard it can be to sit there in that space with a tonne of stuff to off-load but not knowing where to begin, it’s okay, more than okay to start with “I don’t know,” 3 little words that we can all relate to.

The power is in your hands

It is up to you. All of it. It is within your control whether you reach out or not, you can decide “this counsellor is not for me,” no matter how far into the work you are you can still choose to bid your counsellor farewell, you have the safety to say “I don’t agree with that,” during your session, you have the autonomy to choose what you disclose or not with your counsellor, you can say if something doesn’t feel like it’s working, in fact, this is encouraged. The power is in your hands from the start, and you keep hold of it throughout the entirety of the therapy process, no matter how long or how short.

Okay so, how you do know if you’re ready for therapy?
I can’t answer that for you but, being open to change, transparency, and learning more about yourself are good places to start. Having an open heart to meet a version of yourself that you have not met yet, to confront your humanness in a way that you may not have been able to do before, all within the safety of the therapy space.
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So, it’s up to you, are you ready?