Individual counseling can have a profoundly positive impact on your mental health. Whether you’re experiencing signs and symptoms of anxiety disorder or struggling with substance abuse and depression, individual counseling can provide a clear path forward.
In this article, we’re taking a closer look at the mental health benefits of individual counseling.
The Mental Health Benefits of Individual Counseling
The American Psychological Association says more people are seeking mental health treatment than ever before. Now with many mental health centers providing virtual counseling services, the number will likely rise.
One in five Americans lives with a mental illness, often defined as any mental illness or severe mental illness. Any mental illness refers to cognitive, behavioral, and emotional disorders. Severe mental illness refers to the same conditions, except that they interfere with daily function.
Related: 10 Types of Mental Health Disorders
Treatment is needed to help someone struggling with mental health issues. Examples of when to seek treatment include times when you are in a crisis, have feelings of anxiety or depression, feel overwhelmed by changes happening in your life, struggle with drug or alcohol abuse, or have relationship problems.
You don’t have to wait until something bad happens, though. Even if you want to make improvements in your mental health, an individual counselor can help.
Here are some of the benefits of individual counseling.
What Is Individual Counseling?
Individual counseling is a process in which you work with a licensed mental health professional to resolve negative symptoms and other issues that are related to a mental illness. When you begin individual counseling, your therapist will perform an extensive evaluation to develop the best treatment plan.
With your input, you will decide if you wish to seek additional help from a Psychiatrist for possible medication assistance. You will also discuss alternative and holistic therapies that can help you make progress, like acupuncture, meditation, equine, art, or music therapy.
Whether your symptoms are mild or severe, seeking individual counseling can offer numerous benefits. Below are examples of what counseling can do for you.
Relief from Negative Symptoms
Everyone goes through ups and downs in life. When something terrible happens, it is normal to experience negative emotions like sadness or anger. When things get better, your mood gets better. For some, however, this does not happen, and the negative emotions seem to last longer than they should.
If you notice negative symptoms like crying, sadness, anger, emptiness, or hopelessness, seek the help of an individual counselor. Relief is possible, and it doesn’t take long to start seeing improvements.
Then, you can start learning how to make long-term changes to avoid adverse symptoms in the future.
Get to Know Yourself
Getting to know yourself through individual counseling is a huge benefit. Without this step, you will find it hard to move forward. Individual counseling can help you define your beliefs, values, and goals. It helps you figure out past experiences that may have lead to current mental health issues and discover the strengths that can help you overcome obstacles.
Mindfulness is another part of individual counseling. It is the technique of paying attention to your mind and body, recognizing which parts need attention, and then taking action to heal your whole self.
Self-care is a big part of improving both physical and mental health. Your therapist can help you choose self-care behaviors that will address your specific needs.
Improved Self-Esteem
The more you learn about yourself and your strengths, and the more you take care of your mental and physical health, you will notice an increase in self-esteem and confidence.
Self-esteem influences the decisions you make. People with low self-esteem often make decisions based on how others will think of them. They want to please other people, even if that means harming themselves.
The goal of individual counseling is to help you understand the skills you possess, express your needs, learn to have a healthy relationship with yourself, and set realistic expectations. All of these qualities represent higher self-esteem and will help you understand how to build self-confidence moving forward.
Learning to set boundaries is another form of self-care that will become easier to do as your self-esteem improves.
Learn to Set Boundaries
It’s hard to tell people no, even when you know it will cause you more stress. You want people to like you. When you decline a request for help, you feel guilty and worry that others will be mad at you for doing so.
If you can relate to this, you have a problem with boundaries.
Individual counselors can help you learn to set boundaries and decide which projects to accept and deny. The skill of setting boundaries is just one of many you can improve while in therapy.
Improved Life Skills
Life skills help you get the most out of your life. Struggling with mental health disorders may also mean there is room for improvement with the life skills you possess. Maybe the way you communicate in your relationships is not effective. Perhaps you need to be a better leader at work. Maybe you need to learn how to solve problems better.
An individual counselor can help you improve skills like money management, communication, anger management, stress management, conflict resolution, and much more.
The more life skills you develop, you will notice the relationships in your life become healthier.
Improved Relationships
Mental illness can affect relationships, and relationships can affect your mental health.
Your interactions with family and friends reflect your emotions. Those with depression and anxiety often want to isolate or withdraw from others socially. It can alter sleeping and eating patterns. It can even cause you to stop participating in activities you once enjoyed.
Your friends and family feel helpless and guilty because they can’t make you feel better. On the other hand, you may be in a relationship characterized by unhealthy behaviors. Examples include physical or verbal abuse, addiction, or even neglect, leading to poor mental health.
Individual counselors can work with you and your friends and family through relationship and family counseling. All of you can learn how to handle the ups and downs of life together, as a team, making your relationships stronger.
In conclusion, you can experience all the benefits of individual counseling and more. Whether you want to get to know yourself better or struggle with serious mental health symptoms, help is available.
So, go ahead; you deserve the benefits you can get from individual counseling. Start today by calling or sending a message online.