From A Therapist’s Perspective

Therapy is terrifying. It is simply a room. This room has some chairs, a couch, a side table, and a complete stranger. You may continuously fidget with your bracelet, necklace, or long sleeves because you do not know what to do in this room with these chairs, a couch, a side table, and a complete stranger. Do you act on your best behavior? Do you try to summarize the depths of who you are in a matter of sentences? What does this therapist/stranger expect from you? What do they think of you? Will they actually help?

From a therapist’s perspective, I am going to tell you that there are many things that therapy can be, such as: scary, overwhelming, vulnerable, intimidating, confusing. However, therapy can also be other things, such as: liberating, educational, helpful, trustworthy, eye-opening. Everything is about perspective, isn’t it? You walk into that first session, panicking about whether to choose the chair or couch to sit on, and have so many thoughts bouncing around in your mind while you’re attempting to remain as calm as possible (despite understandable skepticism and doubt). That must feel so debilitating and lonely. But you made it in that therapy room. You took that step inside that room and chose to make a change within your life. And isn’t that where it all starts?

Therapy is terrifying. But you are strong. You are resilient. You are courageous. And you made it into that room.