5 Steps to Starting Your Healing Journey with Therapy
You’ve heard others sing praises about their therapy or counseling experience, and you may be wondering if the same is destined for you. Will therapy really work for you? How do you get started when the journey ahead may seem quite long? How do you know this is the right next step for you?
Today we’re talking about what your healing journey will require of you as you move forward as well as ways you support yourself through the experience. Healing requires foundational structures like safety, awareness, self-advocacy and creating and protecting one’s boundaries.
Embarking on your healing journey with these things at the ready will not only support you through your therapy experience but will help you reap the most benefit from your therapeutic relationship with your counselor.
Remind Yourself You Are Safe
Unresolved healing can make you feel vulnerable at times. Carrying this vulnerability is something we as humans get used to and normalize in our daily life so we can move forward through our lives. As you begin therapy, you may become aware of this feeling of vulnerability, but it’s important to remind yourself that it is safe to grow.
As you pursue growth, constant reminders and affirmations that you are safe will help stabilize your mind and heart so you can settle into your healing journey. You are safe, and you are safe to share your goals, desires and feelings with a therapist you trust.
It’s important to also note here that you do not have to share all of your secrets or traumas in order to find healing in therapy. Therapy serves to help you find balance and security in the here and now. If you feel that sharing a past trauma is a part of your healing journey, know you are safe to do so. If you feel like exploring the past may cause more trauma or impede that balance and security, you are equally as safe to avoid those parts. You guide your sessions, and you are in control of your healing journey.
Affirmations of Safety You Can Use in Your Healing Journey
Affirmations are quite powerful, as they have the ability to help us rewire old patterns of thinking and believing that aren’t serving us anymore. Speaking words of healing, security and positivity can help you start to believe and truly feel the things you speak.
Here are a few affirmations for creating a sense of safety within yourself as you begin therapy:
I am safe to be myself
I am safe to share whatever I want to share
I am safe to find balance in the here and now
I let go of what doesn’t protect me
I allow peace to reside inside of me
Remember You Are Your Own Best Advocate
Remember, you are working on receiving and pursuing what you need to heal and find balance in your present life. You are in control of your healing journey - you control what you share and don’t share, you control what advice you use and don’t use, and you control what goals you pursue or let go.
While your therapist is an advocate, partner and guide with your best interests in mind, you will always be your best advocate for yourself - for your goals, desires, needs and feelings. Remember that this healing journey is supposed to serve you!
Through your therapy experience, your healing journey and beyond, remember it is your power and right to focus on meeting your needs first and foremost - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
Remember, healing is about finding balance in the here and now, and that homeostasis is your primary goal. To focus on meeting your needs, discover and know what nurtures your body, mind and spirit and pursue it. No one knows you better than yourself!
To advocate for yourself through your therapy experience, be proactive and engaged. Ask questions and take notes! Give honest feedback to your therapist about how you’re feeling, what’s working for you, and what isn’t working for you. Trust what you now about yourself and what you’re feeling, and prioritize acting on what you need to find balance and support your healing.
Uphold Your Boundaries
Healing is vulnerable - as you pursue growth, be aware of what encroaches on your boundaries. Great boundaries serve to protect us as we grow and find healing. Here are three types of boundaries to have set in place and to protect:
Energetic
Value your time and effort first and foremost. Know what and how much you need to give to yourself before giving to others.
Mental
Know what thoughts you will allow and what thoughts you will not allow for yourself, like negative self-talk. Using affirmations is a great way to uphold boundaries here to protect your sense of security, positivity, and belief.
Relational
Are there any toxic, trying, tense or energetically draining relationships you should set boundaries around as you begin your healing journey?
Remember to Accept Yourself
Psychologist Nathaniel Branden once said, “The first step towards change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.”
Through the healing process, learn to accept thoughts, feelings and desires in the form they arise without adding judgement.
Remember to Stay Curious About Yourself
You are your greatest adventure - get curious about yourself and the depths and dimensions of you. This will help you be as open as possible with your therapist and support you in receiving as much guidance and care as possible!