The brief answer is NO! Counselling is for anyone.
I see therapy as being about personal development as much as dealing with life’s difficulties.
Therapy is about developing better life skills. Like learning to deal with the difficult emotions we all have. Becoming more able to find lasting peace and happiness. It is also about achieving our potential as human beings.
There can be a perception that therapy is only for the mentally ill, or people who are really struggling in some way. That “if I go into therapy there is something wrong with me”
Nothing could be further from the truth!
Therapy is certainly important for those who are affected by mental health issues and for times in our lives when we are hit by big challenges… Challenges in our relationships, our work or our sense of direction and purpose. However, many, many people worldwide access therapy at some point in their lives simply because they would like to fine tune things without having any major issues.
Personally, I started doing personal development work when I was 19, not from any sense of lack. Instead because I found it fascinating to explore my inner landscape and to see what was possible for me! Of course since then I have found the tools and experiences I have gained from therapy have made it easier to cope with the inevitable challenges that life throws at us.
Sometimes we wait till we are in crisis to seek support, and my experience has been that while this is important in can actually be easier to do really good work when we are in a more level place. When we are in a crisis it might be all we can do just to cope and we don’t have the energy to spare to look at underlying causes of the problem.
When we are more level we are in a better position to look at our limiting core beliefs and to change them to something more positive. In this way we are less likely to create dramas and crisis in the future. Counselling can be seen as “preventative medicine”! Preventing such big problems from arising in the first place., and allowing us to live happier and more fulfilling lives.
Therapy is a very useful tool and can benefit most people at some point in their lives.
To understand more about my approach to therapy, click here, or feel free to call me for a quick chat.
Ajay Hawkes
