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Making Positive Life Changes—How Does It Work

Psychotherapy: Making Positive Life Changes—How Does It Work?

All too often people come to counseling because they feel stuck by obstacles in their lives. Most of the time, these obstacles are not based in reality. Rather, they are part of an inner narrative created by these individuals.

It’s a narrative that includes themes such as powerlessness or not being capable to solve the problem. And these themes keep many people, perhaps even you, from making positive life changes.

After all, why even bother trying if you’re not capable of doing so, right?

But that’s not true!

With the help of psychotherapy, it’s possible to make the changes you want so that you can live the life you deserve.

Here’s how it works.

Reframing What Failure Means

When people come to counseling, they often see themselves as “failures.” No matter how hard they try, it just isn’t possible to get the results they want. Over time these events compound, exacerbating the problem.

However, what if those failures weren’t dead-ends after all? Instead, could it be possible to reframe those moments as opportunities for growth? Psychotherapy can assist you with reframing and redefining failures into what they really are: possibilities for success.

Building a New Self-Awareness

Those who go to therapy are often painfully self-conscious of themselves. That’s usually due to issues such as anxiety or depression. When they look in the mirror, they don’t see someone who’s capable of accomplishing great things. Rather, they apply all of those unhelpful labels (including failure) to themselves.

If that’s you, building a new self-awareness is necessary in order to make positive life changes. This self-awareness is based on knowing what situations or thought processes may trigger negativity. Psychotherapy then helps you with taking the next step towards doing something about them.

Assembling a Toolbox for Success

A big part of psychotherapy is learning skills that you can use when you slip back into old patterns of thinking. It’s these tools that allow you to choose something different when you begin to have those feelings.

That way, you don’t have to slip back into an unhealthy thinking pattern. Instead, you do something different that allows you to get back on track. This could be a breathing technique or even giving yourself a simple reminder that everything is going to be OK.

Providing a Safe Place to Try New Things

It isn’t easy to forge a new outlook on life. This is especially true when you have had many years of baggage to carry with you. In therapy, you can find a safe place to try making positive life changes. You don’t have to fear judgment or ridicule from others. Far from it!

Therapy sessions are a time when you don’t have to put up those emotional walls you use to protect yourself. Rather, you can be real and honest—not just with your counselor but with yourself too. Plus, psychotherapy allows you the chance to try out and practice the tools that will be so important for managing emotions outside of session.

Discovering an Inner Light

All of these aspects point towards one thing: uncovering your inner light. Once all of the negativity has been stripped away, what’s left is the power you carry with you to make changes.

But for some, it takes help and support to find it. That’s the job of a therapist and the whole point of counseling. It is intended to help you find your inner power and harness it. You have the potential to make it happen!

The role of psychotherapy is not meant to focus on what’s “bad.” Instead, the point of therapy is to empower you so that you can make positive life changes. I invite you to reach out to learn more about how our approach to psychotherapy can help you, 256-573-8922.

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