What you need to know about Counseling

When clients call us for the first time seeking couples or individual counseling, we are often told they have been considering therapy for years and finally reached out (because the relationship is hanging on by a thread or the pain is too much). One of the reasons they don’t go to therapy right away is that they don’t really know the ins and outs of the therapy process and think, “I can manage this on my own.” Unfortunately, things can simply get worse and patterns get magnified. This blog post is to help you learn all you need to know about counseling to help you and your partner feel better at starting the counseling process. We would prefer you to seek out counseling while the issue isn’t as bad. 

People may find counseling to be a beneficial and rewarding experience for several reasons.

Here are a few reasons why counseling can help:

• It can help people to understand themselves better. Counseling can help people to understand their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This can be helpful in making sense of their lives and in making changes that they want to make.
• It can help people to cope with difficult times. Counseling can help people develop new coping skills and strategies for managing stress, anxiety, and depression, and other emotional challenges. It can also help people to cope with grief and loss. This can lead to improved emotional regulation, greater self-awareness, and a stronger sense of resilience.
• It can help people to improve their relationships. Counseling can help people to improve their communication skills, their conflict resolution skills, and their intimacy skills. This can help people to have better relationships with their partners, their children, and their friends. This can lead to improved self-esteem, greater satisfaction with life, and more fulfilling relationships.
• It can help people to reach their full potential. Counseling can help people to overcome obstacles, set and achieve goals, and live a fulfilling life. Counseling can be a transformative experience that can help individuals to develop greater self-awareness, explore their values and goals, and achieve greater personal growth and development. This can lead to a greater sense of purpose, meaning, and fulfillment in life.

Counseling is a process of helping people to understand and resolve their problems. It can be done by a variety of professionals, including psychologists, counselors, and social workers. At Estes Therapy, we have Licensed and unlicensed Marriage and Family Therapists, Licensed Social Workers, and Professional Clinical Counselors. Having a variety of degrees and licenses allows our clinical team to support our clientele through various clinical lenses. 

Counseling can be helpful for people who are struggling with a variety of issues, including:

• Stress (work, homelife, parenting, etc)
• Anxiety and overwhelm
• Depression
• Grief/Loss
• Relationship and communication problems
• Career problems (working in a stressful/toxic environment)
• Substance abuse
• Mental health problems
• Coming out (non-binary, LGBTQIA+, GSRD, kink, etc)
• Premarital counseling support (preparing for the future)

Counseling can be helpful for people who are looking to make positive changes in their lives, such as improving their relationships, achieving their goals, and living a more fulfilling life.

Counseling is a form of therapy that involves a trained professional helping individuals to address their emotional, psychological, and interpersonal problems.

What you should know about counseling:

1. Counseling is a confidential process that involves a non-judgmental and supportive therapist who listens to your concerns and helps you to develop strategies to manage your problems.
2. Counseling can address a wide range of issues, including depression, anxiety, relationship problems, addiction, trauma, grief, and more.
3. There are many different types of counseling, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, emotionally focused therapy, EMDR, and others.
4. The therapeutic relationship between the client and the therapist is an essential part of the counseling process. It’s important to find a therapist who you feel comfortable talking to and who you trust.
5. Counseling can be short-term or long-term, depending on the client’s needs and goals. Some people may only need a few sessions to work through a specific problem, while others may benefit from ongoing therapy.
6. Counseling can be done in individual, group, or family settings, depending on the client’s needs and preferences.
7. Counseling is not a one-size-fits-all approach, and different therapists may have different approaches to treatment. It’s important to find a therapist who has experience working with the issues you want to address.
8. Counseling can be a transformative experience that can help you to improve your quality of life, enhance your relationships, and build resilience in the face of challenges.

Counseling can also be a helpful way for people to: Learn new coping skills. Counseling can teach people new coping skills that they can use to manage stress, anxiety, and other difficult emotions. Develop a support system. Counseling can help people to develop a support system of friends, family, and other professionals who can provide them with support and encouragement. Gain insights into their own behavior. Counseling can help people to gain insights into their own behavior and to understand why they do the things they do. Make positive changes in their lives. Counseling can help people to make positive changes in their lives, such as improving their relationships, achieving their goals, and living a more fulfilling life.

If you are interested in starting counseling in San Diego, give us a call or schedule an appointment!