6 Empowering Truths about Counseling in Missoula
Welcome to my blog series on finding a counselor in Missoula. If you are here, you’re already taking steps to make changes in your life and your mental health. Your choice to look into counseling shows that you are brave, even if you feel anxious and confused about the process!
The purpose of today’s blog is to help you understand more about therapy and counseling in Missoula, MT, where I offer in-person sessions. I also provide virtual therapy throughout Montana. Whether you are considering scheduling a call with me or you just want more information about counseling, I’m here to help with the process.
Truth # 1: You Don’t Need to Be in Crisis to Start Counseling
Sometimes it takes a crisis before someone is ready to reach out for help, but that’s not always the case. Many people who enter counseling have dealt with anxiety for years, but they either haven’t thought about counseling, they didn’t think it could help them, or it wasn’t the right time. While counseling is definitely a source of support for people in crisis, it is also commonly utilized as a way to respond more adaptively to anxiety, relationship stressors, change, and other challenges we face in life. I work with many clients who are experiencing ups and downs in their lives due to anxiety, always putting other people first, and fear of showing up authentically, among other things.
Truth # 2: Therapy is Flexible…it doesn’t have to be forever
Counseling is a process, and it takes time to build a therapeutic relationship and make changes, but you don't have to go to counseling forever. When you find a counselor who is focused on collaboration and flexibility, they will work with you to determine how you can best make the changes you are looking for. With an emphasis on commitment to the process and openness to change, you will learn new skills that you can use long after you graduate from counseling. In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, an approach I use in my practice, you will learn how to keep your values in mind and live in greater alignment with those values.
Truth # 3: Your Therapist Is There to Guide, Not Judge
Many of us have heard of psychological analysis and “lying on the couch.” There are still psychologists, therapists, and counselors who incorporate analysis in their practice, but most counselors are focused on understanding you and helping you understand yourself. For instance, I work with many people who have so many thoughts that it’s sometimes hard for them to slow down and realize what is happening. I might help a client notice that pattern or recognize how they are moving away from the values that matter to them. Your counselor in Missoula will have insights into providing you with tools to respond to your emotions and make healthy choices.
Truth #4: Vulnerability in Counseling Is a Strength, Not a Weakness
I have worked with many clients in my counseling practice who grew up being discouraged from sharing their feelings. They use the word “weak” to describe themselves, especially if they cry or express fear. You are not weak for having emotions, and you don’t have to hold everything in. Whether you need help reframing your sensitivity as your natural response to life or you are seeking to express and work through the emotions you have been holding in, counseling will provide the space to practice emotional expression and exploration. When you practice this vulnerability it shows courage and encourages connection. I support clients in opening up at their own pace, both in session and with important people in their lives.
Truth # 5: Learning to Be Assertive Can Transform Relationships
Many of my clients are afraid to tell others what they think, need, and want. Others realize that they are treating the people they care about with less patience and respect than they want to. Both types of clients can be helped by learning how to be assertive in their relationships. Assertiveness is the middle ground between passivity and aggression, or even passive-aggressiveness. I seek to provide a place for you to realize that you are as important as others (not more or less), to learn how to express yourself and your needs with respect, and to practice communicating your emotions, wants, and needs both in session and in your actual life. You can learn how to set healthy boundaries and have open conversations that change and strengthen relationships.
Truth # 6: Therapy Helps You Respond, Not React
"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." That quote has been attributed to Viktor Frankl, who was a Jewish holocaust survivor and psychotherapist. It is a beautiful example of how slowing down emotional processes gives us more control over our decisions and our actions. Through the use of tools you might learn and practice in counseling, such as mindfulness, breathing techniques, or flexible thinking, you can decrease your impulsivity and reactivity and increase your focus on living an intentional, meaningful life based on your values.
If reading this blog has helped you feel more prepared to take the next step in your journey, I would love to talk with you to see how I can help. My specialties include anxiety, people-pleasing, perfectionism, boundary-setting, and self-compassion. Whether you prefer in-person counseling in Missoula or virtual therapy from anywhere in Montana, I offer a calm, intentional space to help you create meaningful change.
Schedule a free consultation call today to see if we’re the right fit.