The root of the word therapy means “to give attention to.” With a focused eye on what needs to be tended to, therapists operate in a unique way that even the greatest parent or spouse is often unable to. Therapists create and hold a safe space for clients to play, create, be, hope, and dream.
Though we have made great strides in recent years, the popular perception of therapy remains loaded with stigma. Therapy is synonymous with words like “crazy” and “mentally ill” rather than “wellness” and “health.”
But, what if therapy was a time to dream and achieve? What if it was a time to examine, reflect, and (re)commit?
An experience of loss or hardship can blind us into thinking we cannot recover or that life will always be unforgiving. The experience of therapy is like the feeling of putting on a new pair of lenses – a chance to look again and maybe find something new.
Whether it’s getting over a difficult break-up, finding and strengthening your natural gifts, or healing from long-forgotten misunderstood wounds, with the help of a therapist, you can see and be in new ways.
The Gift of Therapy
Take a moment and think:
Have you let go of a once magnificent dream?
Have you forgotten how to be your best self?
Have you lost focus on what used to be important to you?
Therapy provides the time and space to dig in, along with the support to face what is sometimes scary, unpleasant, and unexpected. Therapy provides the accountability to “give attention to” your goals, your dreams, and your journey.
Sometimes, in order to reach your goal(s), you have to sit with difficult emotions and dig into difficult parts of yourself. For therapists and counselors, this “attending to” during these hard moments is the gift of therapy!
Is it time to make an investment in yourself? In your dreams? In your health?
Therapy isn’t just for crises, but we’re here for those times when you’re knocked down by life’s unexpected blows. Therapy is also for giving attention to the moments that make up every day.
“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.”
Simone Weil
If you find yourself swimming in regret or reflecting on lost dreams – if you discover that you’re paralyzed by uncertainty or are feeling lost – give yourself the gift of therapy. Invest in giving attention to the most important person in your life: YOU.
Written by Sunstone counselors, Gina Hafez and Elizabeth Moyer
