When Psychotherapy Is Necessary
Most people eventually find their own wisdom, with or without therapy.
You get smarter over time. You discover your own truth. When you're younger, you tend to live by the platitudes of others; you hear other folks telling you how to live. They give you advice--usually advice you don't want to hear--such as how to stay healthy and secure and avoid the dangers of excess.
The maturity and experience that come with age are life's greatest teachers, but we're not always open to learning from them. Some people get stuck in a rigid, negative mind set for a long time--sometimes even for a lifetime. Their prolonged stress and mental anguish are clear signs of emotional disturbance; signs that the mind is working against the self. People in that state are in need of help. They need a more constructive outlook--one that works for, not against, growth and change. In cases of continuous suffering, an intervention is essential, and psychotherapy can make all the difference.
For others, however, psychotherapy is not a critical necessity, but rather a way of speeding up the growth process. Why wait to be wise? Why go through a series of difficult relationships in order to learn what really works for you? Deep in the recesses of your mind is all the wisdom you'll ever need. Psychotherapy is a great way of tapping that wisdom and learning how to use it.
I believe that there are no real healers in life, just guides. Although we would like to think that others have magical powers to change our lives, we possess all the resources we need to fix them ourselves. Therapy helps a person to develop the powers of introspection, observation, and change. At its best, it helps motivate and excite you as a student of life. Neither I, nor anyone I know, can actually "heal" anyone. You are the architect and carpenter, designing and building your own house. The therapist is a toolmaster, showing you how to find and use the right tools. Life can become an exciting process of building, using new approaches. Instead of holding on to the past, you learn to welcome growth and change.