Therapy - what it is and why it’s good for us

What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow. Our life is the creation of our mind. Shakyamuni

We all need to know what’s in us. All the stuff rattling around our inner world - thoughts, beliefs, feelings, memories - is what defines us and forms our life. That messy cocktail of helpful and unhelpful energies in our minds and hearts, is not just the residue from the past we would like to forget about and move on from: it is the raw material of what we unconsciously create. It determines the life we have, every single moment of every day.

We usually focus our attention on our outer life, our experiences in the external world, as the cause and solution to all our problems: “when my holidays/pay /ideal partner comes, all will be perfect”; “when I get over this flu/buy a house/ditch that partner, things will be fine”. The hope is that by working hard and rearranging the furniture of life around us, we can find absolute peace and happiness.

But have you noticed how the positive feelings from good happenings don’t last? And how the relief from bad things ending doesn’t last either? That is because our mind is running the show, generating our experiences out of the thoughts we hold. This is why some people can be happy even in really difficult circumstances, while others are impossible to please.

Therapy - counselling, psychotherapy with all its different approaches and techniques - is designed to help us turn our awareness inwards and uncover what is there. A well trained, experienced therapist, who knows themselves from their own inner work, can guide us inwards and support us to safely and manageable face what needs attention. Bringing stuck energies - old hurts and wounds - into the light of our conscious awareness is what heals it away.

While uncomfortable at times, and some courage is required, we are not alone. Our therapist holds the space and walks beside us every step of the way. By using our in-sight, assisted by that of our therapist, we find the parts of us that serve us well, and transform the parts that do not. While it can be challenging, therapy works at the real source of our outer experiences: it is the most efficient, and only permanent, way to change our lives.