Weird question, right?
But think about it: just as alcohol gives us the courage to do things that we might be socially uncomfortable with or fearful of, or if we use it occasionally as a clutch, don’t we use therapy the same way? Now, if you don’t drink alcohol or have struggled with substance abuse, please know that this analogy I have created is very much on the surface level.
Oftentimes, clients come to sessions with much trepidation, especially if they have never encountered any reflection or accountability in their lives but are craving more fulfillment. More often than not, identity work is on the table, but so are boundaries. Now, boundaries are not just saying no or evenprotecting our peace, but recognizing when we are beyond our limits in an environment that is not setting us up for success or people not communicating their feelings in the best way.
We come to therapy to find tools and coping mechanisms that will work. But it is only if your therapist can push you and you are open to changing that those tools and techniques have an effect. If the right conversation is at the right time, a session can provide the little spark we need to kick-start our change. The exact potential change that brought us into therapy in the first place.
Of course, therapy is not the same as alcohol, but we have to be careful, even with therapy, that we don’t use it as a clutch. We continue to use therapy as a tool to grow, push, or even maintain. Sometimes, it’s nice to have a refreshing cocktail or a glass of wine at the end of each night. But a glass is a relaxing measure, and therapy is a place to challenge ourselves.
I love when clients come to me in sessions and say, “I was thinking about you and what you had said,” or “you were in my mind the whole time I was doing it.” That makes me happy not because you were gracious enough to give me the credit but because you were open in our sessions to listen and dared to act on it. That courage, a shot could never give us.
So keep going, you most definitely got this!
Originally posted on October 02, 2024.
