I Don’t “Need” a Therapist, Do I?
The Case for Hiring a Therapist Instead of DIY-ing Your Mental Health
When someone first is suggested to go to therapy, a lot of people have the immediate gut reaction saying, “I don’t need it”. I know, I have been there myself. And there is some truth to that thought. Very few people “need” therapy, but most people would benefit from it.
I am going to compare going to a therapist to hiring a landscaper. Can you do it yourself? Maybe. With enough reading, watching YouTube videos, and putting a lot of time and effort into doing it, sure. Some people won’t though. Have you ever done a DIY project and realized that you spent more money on materials, used a lot of your time and energy, and it still looks terrible? You could end up doing that to your own mental health, to your relationships.
In this comparison between therapy and landscaping, having the right tools is important right? There are some tools that do the job efficiently, and the more helpful those tools are, the more they tend to cost. A therapist is the expensive tool and the expert.
In landscaping, those expensive tools might be niche heavy-duty tools, like a tile saw, or an extendable chainsaw to reach high up branches. To avoid the costs of hiring a landscaper, you might try to just use a handheld saw, maybe a hammer, or climbing on a tall ladder with a machete. I am just picturing the injuries that might cause. However, even if you avoid getting injured, it may not even turn out the way you had wanted in the first place, because you aren’t using the right tools, and even if you are, you aren’t skilled at using them.
In therapy, these expensive tools might be a light bar for bilateral stimulation, a sand tray with hundreds of miniatures, receiving training in a therapeutic modality that costs thousands of dollars to learn, or the required thousands spent attending graduate school and spending 5+ years getting trained. In trying to find your own tools instead of therapy, you might spend a lot of money and time on journals, self-help books, apps, aromatherapy oils, or even going to a self-empowerment retreat. Or worse, you might vent to your aunt who gives you bad advice, never question those friends who will always be on your side, or you might do nothing and let it wreak havoc on your family and workplace.
When you go to therapy, you are working with someone who has spent a lot of time and money becoming the tool you need to heal. Don’t let yourself become that streaky half-painted dresser that you never finished flipping when you were in your DIY phase. If you haven’t had that phase, then hopefully you aren’t about to start with a half-hearted self-help phase?
(Enjoy the lovely Home Depot tools pictured to make a point; you might still see them over on Country Club Dr. and Juanita Ave.)
