What I’ve Learned From Therapy

What I’ve learned from therapy

To begin this blog post I’d like to provide some context, for most counsellors, when starting out as a trainee a requirement of their course is that they complete a certain amount of personal therapy. I continued seeing my therapist after those required hours for a number of reasons which I’ve outlined below:

• It felt good to have a space just for me each week.

• Life gets busy and I felt I needed the outlet.

• The work we’d embarked on didn’t feel finished yet.

• One point of my going to therapy as a trainee counsellor was for me to get a sense of how it felt to be a client so that I could understand how my clients felt when they came to see me. I still find this to be a valuable insight even though I’ve now been qualified for a number of years.

So, what have I learned from therapy?

I’ve learned so much from therapy I think it would be easier to say what I haven’t learned!

I’ve learned how to be a better me, how to like myself, how to show myself kindness and compassion, how to forgive my mistakes, how to face up to uncomfortable truths about myself, and how to stand up for little me and the me I am now.

I’ve also learned how to heal from past traumas and from ones I am yet to face as I know so many of the tools I have gained from therapy, I can take with me and use throughout the rest of my life.

I’ve been able to mend relationships I thought would be broken forever and I’ve been able to say goodbye to relationships I thought I’d hold onto forever, that’s because I learned what was healthy for me and what wasn’t.

And although all of this has been difficult and has taken a long time and a lot of hard work, it has been transformative and made such a difference in my life and to the peace I’m now able to enjoy.

One of the most valued things I’ve learned from therapy is how to say no. I spent many sessions just getting my head around the idea that this was actually a word I could put into my vocabulary – guilt free! Now it’s a word I use all the time and I help other people learn how to use it too!

Therapy has been a challenging but truly empowering experience.

To summarise,

What I have learned from therapy is:

• I can do it.

• It’s ok to forgive me.

• You can forgive other people without reconnecting with them.

• I can give myself closure.

• It’s ok to say no.

• I have more power and control than I realise.

If this blog post has inspired you to find out what you could learn from therapy click here to start your journey.