Therapy is becoming a buzzword today, and the number of people seeking mental health services has consistently increased since the turn of the century. People are learning that therapy services are valuable for overcoming challenges and boosting their long-term well-being. Individual therapy in DC is expanding, but why are so many people seeking these services in the first place?
Therapy has been repeatedly shown to improve a person’s overall wellness, whether that means getting a better handle on depression, learning to cope with stress better, or simply practicing new skills to manage one’s behaviors and emotions. If you are considering individual therapy, it is helpful to understand how the process works, who makes a good candidate, and what to expect so you can make an informed decision.
What Is Individual Therapy?
Individual therapy is a collaborative mental health approach that seeks to address challenges to a person’s emotional health and life circumstances. It takes the form of a one-on-one conversation with a professional who can provide a safe environment for an individual to discuss issues they encounter. From there, the therapist may work with the patient to understand why they feel the way they do, how their behaviors support or contrast with those feelings, and which skills or thought patterns could help.
Why Seek Out Individual Therapy in DC?
Many people have heard of therapy in DC, but see it as its over-tuned pop-culture caricature. Maybe it is a person draped along a lounging couch, sharing the abstract details of their nightly dreams while a stern, quiet therapist takes notes. Maybe it is patients being asked what shapes they see in ink blots. In reality, while therapy can help people parse confusing thoughts and reframe their mental attitudes, there are plenty of other reasons to seek help, too.
You are having difficulty regulating your emotions
Emotions rise and fall in intensity, and it is completely normal to experience heightened emotions from time to time. Devastation and prolonged grief at the loss of a loved one, anger when someone is mistreated, or joy surrounding an exciting life development are all important aspects of the human experience.
However, if you notice that your emotional responses do not align with the intensity of situations you encounter, individual therapy could be a good choice. Examples of emotional regulation challenges include:
- Extreme anger (e.g., punching walls, screaming) over small events (e.g., dropping a cup, tripping)
- Prolonged vigilance, even in periods of calm
- Volatile mood fluctuations (e.g., between joy and anger or sadness) with few or no significant causes
Your emotions or thoughts are overpowering
In some people, emotional switching is appropriate; that is, they respond in a relevant manner to situations. A sad situation evokes sorrow, a happy one joy, and so on. However, these emotions may feel overpowering, and transitioning back out of them may be difficult.
Most commonly, this phenomenon is characterized by a sense of overwhelm. Patients may feel that their lives are out of control, and they do not know how to bring things back into homeostasis. They might perceive an immense number of important tasks to do and become paralyzed at the prospect of doing them all, leading to spiraling mental health. If you feel like you have lost control of your life and need help figuring out what you do have control over, individual therapy could provide some insight. A therapist can also help patients break down difficult tasks into smaller, more manageable steps, allowing them to get back on track.
You need help with a specific challenge
In some cases, a person may feel confident about the majority of their life, but they are struggling with a specific event or situation. Perhaps they are experiencing a significant life change, such as a divorce, that is derailing their emotional and mental well-being. Or, they do not know how to find their own identity after being let go from a job they loved. It could even be that they are struggling with substance use or a myriad of other possibilities.
Individual therapy can provide targeted assistance by providing a secure space to decompress and air out emotions. Within this environment, a professional can help you safely express your big feelings and practice new skills to regulate your emotions, identify problematic thought patterns, and make decisions that move you toward your goals.
You cannot seem to get or stay on track
Distractions are a normal part of everyday life, but for some people, their lives fluctuate unpredictably, leading to increased stress. In some cases, life might just be a little chaotic at the moment, but in others, a person’s own decisions could be contributing to this hectic variation.
If you frequently find yourself derailed from your goals and responsibilities or struggle to maintain a job, individual therapy can offer valuable assistance. A therapist can help you create strategies that work with your specific personality, identify areas of difficulty that may contribute to failure, and hone skills for meaningful growth.
You need someone to listen
Sometimes, feeling better simply comes down to having a shoulder to lean on. A therapist is a great option, as their job is, at least in part, to listen. Simply articulating how you feel and processing your experience through conversation can be enough to help you understand the situation and approach it from a new perspective. Individual therapy is free from the judgment that you might otherwise feel if you confided in friends or family, making it especially valuable for those whose situations are complex or stigmatizing.
You want to create better behaviors
Not everyone who benefits from therapy is necessarily in the midst of a specific challenge. Some are already happy with their baseline mental health and behavioral attributes and simply want to move upward from there.
For instance, suppose that you are great at congratulating your friends for their successes, but you wish you could bring that same energy to bear on your own wins. Individual therapy can help you develop new strategies for applying that same positive energy inward, improving your thought patterns, and making good mental habits stick.
Your relationships are struggling
Individual therapy and relationship or couples therapy are distinct practices, but individual therapists can still assist with certain relationship challenges. For example, if a patient is dissatisfied with a relationship, it is essential for them to invest in their own growth first.
Are you noticing that your habits are sabotaging your relationship? Are you dealing with jealousy, unreasonable expectations, or difficulties being vulnerable? Individual therapy can help you gain a deeper understanding of yourself, enabling you to bring your best self to relationships.
You want to overcome trauma
Traumatic situations often have lasting effects, but the guidance of a professional can greatly impact outcomes and introduce healthy coping patterns. Individual therapists often assist patients with trauma, whether from prolonged abuse during childhood, a specific painful event, or something else.
Trauma can present with numerous symptoms in a person’s daily life, such as anxiety, depression, stress, or even chronic pain. Therapy teaches skills to de-escalate these responses, proactively address emotions, and gradually reduce the impact of the painful experience on your day-to-day life.
How Does Therapy Work?
There is no single type of therapy! Many professionals choose to use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) because it has been widely demonstrated to be effective over the long term. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on three primary pillars:
- Restructuring: Identifying thought processes and viewing them from a different angle. This helps the person reframe a problematic or unhelpful thought into something beneficial.
- Coping: Teaching new skills to cope with challenges or solve problems without devolving back into unhealthy behaviors.
- Goal-setting: Unlike some other types of therapy, CBT is a goal-oriented approach. Patients may set goals for themselves (e.g., “I want to be able to control my anger”) and then work with the therapist to establish realistic, tangible benchmarks and milestones toward achieving the goal.
Each therapist’s approach may vary slightly, but the general structure is consistent. Patients will meet their therapist and get to know each other through basic questions and conversation. From there, patients can set goals (or, if they are unsure, the therapist can suggest some bite-sized targets). The two work together to create a plan of action. Often, this plan is made of small steps that, over time, accumulate into more significant progress. In other cases, no specific goal is set, and patients are free to simply discuss and process their situation with guidance from the therapist. The approach to treatment depends on the patient’s situation and needs.
Signs of a Great Therapist
If individual therapy sounds like the right fit for you, the next step is to choose a therapist you can trust. Be sure to look for someone who is licensed. Therapists should be compassionate, friendly, and experienced. Some therapists focus more on specific issues than others, so consider which facets of mental health your prospective therapist specializes in. Others are broader in scope, which could be a good fit for those with multiple challenges or patients who are not sure where to start.
We Offer Individual Therapy in DC to Improve Your Life
Do you need help working through mental, emotional, or behavioral challenges? The compassionate professionals at Aquila Recovery Clinic are always ready to assist, whether you are having difficulties with substance use or need help bringing your life into alignment with your goals. Contact Aquila to schedule an individual therapy appointment.