Myth or truth? It can often be hard to tell the difference between the two. This is because myths often start as truth or an experience someone had that got generalized. When in comes to counseling there are a lot of myths and many of them can stop people from getting the help they need as they can make counseling sound scary, uncomfortable, or unhelpful. This can make many people afraid to seek counseling even though it could help them. It is my hope that the following facts will help clarify some of these myths and show that counselors are here to help as I often hear people say they wanted to get help for a long time and they wish they had reached out sooner.

Counseling Myths And Truth:

Myth: No One Can Help Me Or Understand How I Feel Or What I Am Experiencing When I don’t Understand It.

Sometimes we can’t see things clearly when in the middle of the issue and talking to someone not living it can help provide clarity and help you better understand what is happening currently, how it relates to your past, and what you can do to change the pattern. It’s as if your vision is cloudy while in the middle of the situation and the therapist helps you figure out how to move the clouds so you can see the situation more clearly.

Myth: A Counselor Can’t Understand What I Am Going Through If They Have Not Experienced It Themselves.

It can be easy to think this may be true, but even if they did share a similar experience, we all experience things differently. This is why two people raised in the same childhood home can have very different memories and experiences. So it is often more important that the therapist is someone you can trust and be open with about your story than that they have similar experiences to you.

Myth: Asking For Help Is A Sign Of Weakness.

Actually, for most of us, asking for help is very difficult and it requires a lot of emotional strength to ask for help with problems that may be too overwhelming to cope with on your own.

Myth: Once You Start Counseling, You Have To Continue To Be In Counseling For A Long Time.

This often depends on what issues you want to work on and the type of therapy you are doing. Some types of therapy are designed to be more short term. For example, Eye Movement Densensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), resolves anxiety, depression, attachment issues, and traumas more quickly than many other types of therapy or approaches though this can vary somewhat depending on the history of the client (someone with a long history of past hurts will take longer than someone wanting to work on a few hurts).

Myth: Counselors Will Want You To Go On Medication.

This varies a lot by counselor. It is definitely an important question to ask during your free consultation. In general though, therapists do not provide medication support, you would need to see a doctor or psychiatrist for that and at most it would be a suggestion of something to explore if you are interesting in that.

I hope this has helped you better understand counseling and how it can help you. If you are still feeling stuck on how to find the right therapist for you, see my blog Finding A Good Counselor, Therapist, or Psychologist.

Or you can call me at (707) 954- 7060 for a free 15 minute phone consultation. I’d be happy to hear what is happening and help direct you to the right person. If you’re looking for help with anxiety counseling, depression counseling, or trauma counseling, you can read more about how I can help here. If you are more interested in online counseling, you can read more on how I can help with that here.