Yesterday, I shared with you my misconceptions about therapy– and why I think differently now. Thank you for your thoughtful comments and responses, and for sharing your own experiences with therapy. I’m thrilled to have my experience featured on GoodTherapy.org today. Because the content is similar to what I posted here (and can’t be duplicated elsewhere on the internet), I’ve removed the previous blog post… but you can check out my story on their website here!
The GoodTherapy.org community advocates healthy and ethical psychotherapy practices for both therapists and clients. I was moved by their overall vision in many ways, and I’ve paraphrased my favorite parts here.
At GoodTherapy.org, we envision a mental health community in which therapists:
- Treat all people with the dignity and respect they deserve.
- Give people the benefit of the doubt by holding to the wisdom that people are born loveable, loving, and vulnerable beings and that everyone is doing the best they can based on their experience and circumstance.
- View people as proficient and capable of change. Far too often, people are seen as deficient and lacking what it takes to be healthy and happy.
- Are guided by their hearts as much as their minds.
Therapy isn’t for everyone, though I truly believe in the benefits of “talking it out.” We could all use an objective ear and healthy nudge from time to time. In this article, I’ve included a few tips to make therapy really work, based on my personal experience. For readers who have struggled to locate a therapist they trust, GoodTherapy.org includes a section to help you find one!
Again, thank you for your kindness regarding a personal and sometimes hard-to-share experience. I’m again reminded that the BlogLand community is special and supportive.
the usual bliss 
Congratulations on getting the article published!
Thank you! Glad you read the first version on the blog, too, before I took it down. 🙂
Congrats on the article! The stigma surrounding therapy needs to be busted open. I have found myself in therapy a few times in my life and sometimes it was due to me and my needs and sometimes it was due to what others had done to me that I was seeking therapy to overcome and start living again. Your trust is already broken down and then you have to trust or open up to a therapist and that it is not always the easiest thing to do let alone ask for help in the 1st place. I believe that it should be okay to ask for help when needed and not have the run of emotions or stigma or stereotypes that come with asking for help. I try to be open minded, especially when I do not fully understand something. Thanks for opening my mind and my eyes with your post!
Exactly- often, by the time a person reaches out for help, they are already vulnerable and insecure- they need a safe spot! Thanks for reading!
Love your article. It’s such an encouragement to hear from someone who has had a positive experience with therapy. I believe it’s such a great tool that has been given a bad image by people who are afraid or simply confused about what good therapy really is.
Thanks so much for sharing!
Reblogged this on The Girl Who Blogs and commented:
Amber over at The Usual Bliss wrote a fantastic article about therapy that is being featured at GoodTherapy.org. It was so encouraging to hear how therapy has been a useful tool in her life and to have a positive light shed on something that is often misunderstood. Check it out!