You’re thinking about going to therapy. There are many different types of therapy, but they all share the goal of improving mental and emotional health. The stigma around therapy has significantly decreased with more people talking openly about the fact that themselves or their children have a beloved therapist who they check in with.
Neuroplasticity
Have you heard of neuroplasticity? Its pretty amazing. It is the idea that our brains are flexible and can change. We can actually alter the structure of our brains. When people learn new coping strategies, they are building new neural pathways. In talk therapy, we are changing our brains as we learn how to shift beliefs and reduce symptoms of anxiety or depression. In our practice, one of the therapies that we offer is brainspotting. It is a therapy that utilizes the brains’ ability to heal itself. With brainspotting, you identify, process and release emotional pain from the body. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is another therapy that is research based and yields results. With CBT you work with your therapist to change your thoughts and behaviors. You use techniques such as role playing, journaling and mindfulness techniques. Your brain becomes more active in helpful ways and less overreactive.
People come to therapy every day for reasons like:
- Stress management
- A safe space to process
- Grief
- To do somatic work
- To heal from a trauma
- To reduce anxiety or depressive symptoms
- To work on their relationship with themselves or others
- To break patterns in their life
- To make a big decision
It is a huge step to find a therapist and we realize that it can be overwhelming. We want to help to break it down for you. Here are some things to consider:
The therapeutic match is important
When you have a good therapeutic match, it means that you feel comfortable with your therapist. You feel like this person gets you and you like the style of therapy that they use. Therapists have different styles and personalities. Research shows that a good therapeutic match is connected to the outcome.
Be Patient
Most therapy is a process. We don’t typically see overnight results. Everyone is different but most of the time it takes a little while to share history with your therapist and to establish a relationship. Some feel immediate relief as they are processing emotions that they have needed to process for some time. Therapies that are known to have fast results are therapies such as EMDR or Brainspotting. These therapies are somatic therapies with less talking that focus on releasing trauma or emotional pain from the body.
Do a free phone consultation
Most therapists offer a free phone consult so that you can get a vibe for their style and you can ask questions about scheduling and specialization. Make a list ahead of time with the questions that you have in mind. When you do a consult, give a brief synopsis of what is bringing you into therapy. This will help your clinician to know what you want to work on.
Some questions to ask:
I am struggling in these areas; how do you usually work on this with people?
What areas do you specialize in?
Are you an indirect therapist (more neutral) or a more directive therapist who gives tips and guidance?
What is your schedule like?
Do you offer in person services or virtual services or both?
How do you treat trauma, conflict resolution, anxiety, etc?
Do you accept insurance? If not, do you offer a sliding fee?
Modern Therapy and Wellness is a group therapy practice in the Greater New Orleans area. We provide in person services in the New Orleans area and virtual services anywhere in Louisiana. Here at MTW, we believe that all people can use therapy. We believe that therapy should be warm yet direct. We believe that people can unlearn and relearn., We believe that emotional health is just as important as physical health. We love our clients. We specialize in the areas of couples, couple’s intensive sessions, trauma, brainspotting, anxiety, and grief. Give us a call for a free phone consultation 504-452-1483