What is therapy and when to seek help?

According to the definition given by Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), “therapy” is the process of meeting with a counsellor or psychotherapist for the purpose of resolving problematic behaviours, beliefs, feelings and related physical symptoms. Therapy uses an interpersonal relationship between the counsellor and client to help develop the client’s self-understanding and to make changes in his or her life.

One common myth about seeking therapy is that people often associate therapy with getting an immediate solution from the therapist. On the contrary, the therapist and client play an equal role in the therapy process, thus there is no “expert” in the therapy room. The role of a therapist is to create a safe and supportive space for clients to express, reflect and process their thoughts and feelings, and through this process, become self aware and work towards their ideal life.

A second common misconception regarding seeking therapy is that clients need to be in a crisis in order to seek mental health support from a professional. This is not true at all. People seek out therapy for various reasons, for example, finding it hard to adapt to a new environment, feeling lonely and isolated, experiencing unexpected mood swings or perhaps simply needing someone to talk to. These are no “invalid reasons” to seek mental health support. 

We understand that taking the first step can be difficult for some people, especially to those who come from a background where mental illness/poor mental health is heavily stigmatized. Thus, we offer a 15 minutes free initial consultation call for clients to get to know more about how therapy works and also, to ask any burning questions they have in mind. Lastly, we hope to let you know that we are here to listen whenever you are ready to talk. 

Warmly, 

Phoebe Ng

My TheraSpace.