Nobody questions the wisdom of seeing your family dentist and doctor at least once a year, benefits of preventative care are obvious. But going to counselling or the therapist is something that people typically only do when they become aware of a problem that needs solving. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure in mental health, just like any other health discipline. Read on to find out not just the value that engaging in preventative therapy can have for youth, but also the money it can save over time.
The Benefits of Prevention
It’s a simple fact that the teenage years contain the among the highest highs and the lowest lows of life. Physiologically, teens are dealing with surging hormones that cause emotional feelings that are more intense than any other time in life. On-top of this, psychologically they have not yet had the life experience required to establish healthy ways to process these thoughts and feelings.
This experience is one that we all must go through. But this doesn’t mean we have to go through them alone.
Friends and family are unquestionably helpful, but there is simply no replacing the unique impact that a professional therapist can have to help a teen deal with their struggles and form healthy coping mechanisms that will last a lifetime.
Its said that the strongest steel is forged in the hottest fires. By teaching these coping mechanisms to youth, we allow them to practice them during some of the most emotionally intense experiences of their life. Practice in this context leads to generating extremely strong healthy coping mechanisms that are guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Long-Lasting Value
Dealing with problems in therapy as they come up is the popular way to approach mental health, but far from the most effective. We learn by doing, and if we spend our entire life dealing with emotional problems the wrong way, we practice unhealthy habits. This means that when you enter into therapy as an adult, much of your work involves unlearning learned habits in order to start from a blank canvas and re-learn healthy habits.
When you enter into therapy as a youth, even if there aren’t any glaring mental health problems that need solving; you capitalize on the opportunity to start from a blank canvas and take advantage of extremely nimble minds. Bad habits are much easier to unlearn when you havent entrenched them over a lifetime of practice. Good habits are easier to learn when your mind is inherently plastic and agile.
Ottawa Youth Counselling
There is a lot of stigma surrounding counselling and therapy. The common conception is that therapy is only to be approached when a person is experiencing a problem that needs solving. While therapy is undoubtedly a good idea in these cases, its an even better idea to get into therapy before you have a problem that needs solving. If you’re interested in tapping into the benefits of preventative therapy for yourself or your child, get in touch with Capital Choice Youth Counselling.