Sometimes, life is hard. It throws us a curve ball and it can be difficult to get back on track. Whether you’re dealing with marital issues, grief, problems with your children, job challenges, or something else, the time may come when to need to seek help to sort out your problems and get your life back on the right track.
Hopefully, the idea that only weak individuals need help from a professional to decipher their challenges is one that has disappeared over the years. Indeed, it’s a strong individual who recognizes when to seek help; an individual who is attuned to their body and their emotions and knows when it’s necessary to look outside themselves for assistance.
This past year, especially, has been difficult for individuals of all ages, from children to seniors. It’s been an unprecedented time that has often taken children, families, and couples to their limit, leaving them in a place where a little help could be a wonderful idea and a way back to normal.
Child therapy
The last year has been very hard on the world’s children. Their normal routine was upended, in most cases, and loss of normalcy, loss of connection to friends, and other pandemic-related casualties has caused strife amongst our children.
Add to that issues such as divorce, loss of a loved one, and more, and it’s easy to understand why our kids sometimes require more help than we can give them on our own. Often times, our love and support just isn’t enough, and it’s time for a professional to step in.
For the youngest, techniques like art and play therapy may be just what your child needs to help them release those internalized emotions that may be causing everyday stress and other problems such as behavioral issues. Therapy can help children gain confidence and better make sense of the world around them.
Teens and adolescents can greatly benefit from therapy as well. During the turbulent teens, so much can happen to throw a child’s life into a tailspin, be it relationship issues, school, problems at home, or any other conflict. Therapy can assist with anger issues, conflict resolution, and much more.
Family Therapy
This past year was quite a strange one for families. Parents worked from home. Kids attended virtual school. Togetherness seemed great at first but then often turned into something you couldn’t escape. As a result, many families faced relationship issues that may have not arisen if not for the pandemic.
But, of course, the pandemic has nothing to do with many family challenges. Already present relationship problems between parents may be wreaking havoc on the entire family, or behavior problems amongst children may be causing upheaval that seems irreparable. But the fact remains that a variety of therapeutic approaches can help ease family tensions, and a skilled psychologist can work to identify which approach(es) will aid the broken family and set them whole once again.
And even when things are irrevocably broken, therapy can help families continue on in a new and different direction. Counseling can assist each family member with the challenges of divorce or the hurdles of overcoming grief, either separately or as a unit.
Couples’ therapy
Relationships aren’t easy. It’s a rare couple that goes through life without any bumps and bruises. Whether you’re married or in a committed non-marital relationship, you can bet that there will be challenges along the way. However, enrolling in couples’ therapy and seeking the help of a professional can often smooth the road.
Signs that indicate the need to seek help can include constant fighting, inability to communicate clearly, ignoring important issues or pretending things are “fine”, problems with sex or intimacy, infidelity, differing views on money, varying ideas on parenting, and much more.
Sometimes, couples also need to reach out to a therapist when they’re about to make a big life change, like taking a job that instigates a move, moving in together, or decided to have children. Couples therapy can help you get on the same page, so to speak, no matter how insurmountable the issue may be. Therapy can also help you know when it’s time to call it quits and can assist you in moving on from that point.
If you’ve been thinking whether it’s the right time for you to seek help from a therapist, chances are that it is. For more information on individual, child, family, or couples’ therapy, call the practice of Dr. Ellie Bolgar at 604-371-0198 to schedule a time to chat with one of our licensed psychologists.