Have you ever wondered if counseling is for you? The following are four situations when counseling may help.

Outside Perspective

My thought is that anyone can benefit from counseling at some point in his or her life. It also seems likely that we can benefit from an outside perspective more often than we care to admit (especially if we are a man). Most of the time we can get the counseling we need from a mom, a dad, a coach, teacher, pastor, friend, or anyone else we trust who will keep our best interest in mind. Sometimes though, we need or prefer counseling from a trained professional. I have chosen that path myself on three occasions. If you feel you want counseling from someone who has more advanced skills, who is objective, and who is committed to your best interests, then you may want to see a professional counselor.

Emotions: Angry / Anxious / Depressed

The array of problems that people encounter has filled books so there is no way to cover all of them in detail. We need a more general way of knowing if counseling might help. One of the best ways that we have to evaluate our level of concern with a problem is through our emotions. Emotions are great signals for knowing what is going on with our life. We are mad, sad, glad, or afraid (the basic four) depending on how we evaluate a situation. Most of the time we take some action that corresponds appropriately to the emotion that is felt. We are angry and we pull together the energy to remove the threat. We are saddened by our loss and grieve for a loved one. We are happy about life and throw a party for our friends. We are afraid of falling so we move back from the edge.

When these natural emotional responses become chronic, extreme or inconsistent with events around us then they may be pointing to an unresolved issue. Terms such as depression, anxiety, anger management, etc. are used. In counseling, clients can explore the problems that lead to emotional upset. They develop better options and try new ways of dealing with their problems. If your emotional response to life has gotten out of hand, then counseling can help.

Stuck

Another good way of knowing if counseling might help is to ask whether or not you are adapting to life as well as you would like. Are you getting what you need? Do your plans work out? Are your relationships satisfying? Along this line, counselors tend to work with clients who “function normally” most of the time. This also means that, in at least some part of a client’s life, things aren’t going so well. Maybe you try to do nice things for your partner and get into a fight instead of feeling appreciated. The separation from your partner was over a year ago and you are still not moving ahead with life. You have a new baby and instead of feeling joyful you feel annoyed or anxious. You are burned out at work but still don’t know what you want to do when you grow up. You keep doing things you think you want to do and then quit in the middle and wonder why you even started. The list of course is infinite. If you want to develop a new approach to a life situation, one that works for you, then counseling may help.

Medical

Counselors generally do not resolve the more severe “medical” conditions. Psychiatrists and psychologists may be needed. (Here are some of the distinctions between the mental health professions) However, counseling is often useful in conjunction with other treatments. For instance, a person suffering from diabetes may become depressed as a result of the medical condition. Counselors are trained to help with this “event induced” depression. A person who is traumatized may need a physician for the physical trauma. But, they may also need a counselor to help them process the trauma itself. A person who’s “brain chemistry” is out of balance will need a psychiatrist to prescribe medications, but may also benefit from a counselor who can help them find ways to adapt to this fact of their life. So, even when the primary condition requires another discipline, counseling may be useful for “coping” with what has happened. If coping with a life event is where you need help, then you may benefit from counseling.