ARTICLES:  NEXT DIMENSION IN THERAPY / COUNSELING / DEPRESSION / ENERGY MEDICINE / FORGIVENESS / NEW POWER THERAPY / NEW PTSD TREATMENT: ETT / SAD VAZQUEZ ANNALS   The Truth About Psychological Counseling by Steven R. Vazquez, Ph.D.   Does it mean I am "crazy" if I go to counseling? What if I am too afraid to tell a complete stranger about my problems? What if a counselor discovers that there is something seriously wrong with my mental health? What can a counselor tell me that I don't already know about my issues? What if I believe everyone should solve their own problems themselves? My medical conditions are not "all in my head" so I cannot see how counseling can help. If you relate to these questions, consider taking a few minutes to read the truth about counseling. There are many things that are often misunderstood about counseling by the general public. The media, through movies, television and newspapers, focus upon the most unusual experiences about the counseling profession. Let's explore some of the basic questions about counseling. Are you crazy? If you are among the 16% of the American public who has previously experienced counseling, you probably realize that you do not have to be "crazy" to go to counseling. However, if you have never experienced professional counseling, there is a tendency to make all types of erroneous assumptions about it. The truth about it is that millions of people who are very sane participate in counseling. Very normal people are sometimes challenged by the death of a loved one, marital problems, anxiety or depression from time to time. There are a number of specialties in the counseling field and one area involves working with people who have serious psychoses and would be seen as "crazy" by many, but most counseling involves helping people cope with things like a broken heart, nervousness, inability to sleep, etc. The old social stigma that it is an insult to one's pride to seek help no longer fits the reality. The truth is that one should seek help if it is in their best interest for feeling better. Talking to a complete stranger The next issue is about the sheer fear that many people have about telling a complete stranger about their problems. Some of these fears include fear of facing one's own emotions, fear of what the counselor would think of them or fear of simply being embarrassed. First, it must be understood that fear itself generates the imagination into worry in such a way that our own imagination exaggerates and distorts the truth before we even meet a new person. Nonetheless, a lot of people are afraid of the unknown and that is your mind's way of trying to protect you. However, professional counseling is based upon confidentiality and most counselors choose this field because they want to help people. Experienced counselors have usually seen so many people that they are rarely shocked or dismayed by whatever you to tell them. It is true that counselors are people also, thus there may be a great variation as to how judgmental they may be about you. Generally speaking, counselors are taught to be accepting of their clients. It is a good idea to find out about a particular counselor before you enter treatment. You can always interview them by telephone or ask them to send you material about them. It is also helpful to acquire information about them from a former client or go to a seminar or lecture that they are presenting in order to meet them personally. These are a few things that might reduce your fear about talking to a "stranger". Ultimately, it might be that the fear is really not about the counselor, it often ends up that the fear is really about facing yourself. Is there a serious mental health problem? This leads to the next issue of "What if they discover that something is seriously wrong with my mental health?" This fear is understandable and typical. However, it is often exaggerated way out of proportion in most cases. Just like with any problem, one must first recognize that the problem exists and then face it. In some cases, people are going through denial. Studies show that people wait an average of three weeks before they go to a doctor after they realize they have a medical problem. In the case of marital problems, it was found that people typically put off going for help five years after the problem is known to them! Of course, by this time the problems have usually gotten worse or reached crisis points and it involves longer, more expensive counseling to resolve these problems. This leads to the issue of what actually happens in counseling. Is counseling only advice? Many people wonder "What can a counselor tell me that I don't already know about my issues?" This question itself is based upon a false assumption that counselors simply give advice. This is rarely true. The best way to approach counseling is to honestly share your problems so that the counselor has a clear understanding of your issues. With this information given to the counselor, they can then ask helpful questions to help you see beyond what you already know, as well as direct you in activities that help you get the changes you want. In short, you and the counselor work as a team rather than the counselor telling you what to do. Does it help? The bottom line for you is simply that most counseling actually works! In the November 1995 issue of Consumer Reports, a study was reported in which thousands of people who had undergone counseling were surveyed about their satisfaction. The article states the following: "The majority were highly satisfied with the care they received. Most had made strides toward resolving the problems that led to treatment, and almost all said life had become more manageable. This was true for all the conditions we asked about, even among people who had felt the worst at the beginning." Can I do it myself? Many people, especially men, believe that everyone should be able to solve all of their problems themselves. Contrary to popular belief, most counselors agree that people should first and foremost attempt to resolve their own problems. To this issue I would offer the following challenge: If you can solve all of your own problems, I encourage you to do so and I support the idea. However, I challenge you to commit ahead of time to the plan that you give yourself a specific deadline for solving the problem and a clear definition of what the resolution might be. Then be honest with yourself about whether you actually have solved the problem by your own deadline. If you have, Congratulations! If you have not solved it, however, then you need to seriously consider professional counseling because it is now clear that you can not solve it yourself. If you cannot solve a problem by yourself, it is not necessarily a sign of weakness . By recognizing that you could use the help of others may rather be a sign of wisdom. Mind or Body? Another typical issue of concern pertains to the relationship between medical conditions and psychological health or stress. When counseling is recommended to people who have medical problems, many people interpret this as the problem is "all in their heads" or "not real". Most people do not want to be seen as hypochondriacs. A problem with this is that most true hypochondriacs are convinced that a health concern is real and are the last to "see" that their problems are imaginary. However, this whole issue is generally misunderstood by the public. Today most medical conditions are stress-related and yet are very real physically at the same time. The fact that counseling should be considered has nothing to do with the reality of the physical symptoms. Instead, it is based on the idea that the mind and body are really not separate but are actually a single interactive unit. Sometimes it is helpful to solve medical problems by working with the mental part of the problem. At other times, both mental and physical procedures are necessary to truly resolve a condition. This is not an attempt for counselors to practice medicine, rather it is a way to help change things like emotions, attitudes, relationships and beliefs which are well documented to have a bearing on physical health. Do I need talk or pills? Today more and more people are seeking help in the form of pills. More and more people are taking antidepressants. While there are clearly circumstances in which antidepressants are valuable and even necessary, the popularity of these medications has also provoked a widespread misuse and false hope. Approximately 30% of the population does not respond to these drugs and even the newest ones commonly have side effects such as the loss of sexual desire and/or performance and all the consequences of that problem such as poor self esteem, marital distress and confusion. There are also a number of consequences in the form of sleep disorders that are common side effects with almost all antidepressants. Even without these side effects, many people risk problems of addiction and drug abuse with almost any medication. Recently, medical doctors who are general practitioners and have little or no training in psychological evaluation have become the primary professionals to prescribe t hese drugs. Since there are numerous types of depression, it becomes very risky depending on if the medications have been prescribed based on an accurate diagnosis. Finally, taking a pill does not have the capacity to help people understand themselves any better, so these patients are left with the probability of continuing to make the same mistakes that led to the depressant in the first place. Be wary of a quick fix. Pills have their place and are only as good as the wisdom used in applying them. Pharmaceutical companies are a multi-billion dollar business, so their "literature" is marketing for their best interests, not always yours. What do we have to offer that is different, helpful or cost effective at Counseling and Health Innovations? Counseling strategies have advanced dramatically in the last several years! It is now possible to change emotional states, behaviors and destructive ways of thinking faster than ever before. Not all counselors are trained in these advanced methods, but the know-how and technology is now here for accomplishments that were never dreamed possible just 15 years ago! Yes, it costs, but what will you pay in terms of unnecessary misery if you don't take the risk? It is hard to understand that there are ways out, but you will never know until you try. We believe a hope exists that most people cannot even imagine. Give yourself the gift of hope!