Blog

Badge of Honor

Seeking professional help from a psychologist can be a marker of health and functionality. It requires great courage to ask for help. Even though you know the psychologist has specialized training and has heard all sorts of stories, they are still an actual person that you'll be talking with, not a therapy machine. Initially at core they are a stranger listening to your intimate and vulnerable concerns. The 'low courage' people never get in the door.

I have encountered many people over the years who have the belief that participating in therapy is a marker of dysfunction and shame. Most of those people have an undertone of bragging they never needed therapy and have always been able to solve problems and challenges on their own. I am always left with the later impression that those individuals are accurate in their assessment that they have solved all their issues - those they were aware of. The 'low self-awareness' people never get in the door.

After thirty years of listening to many thousands of stories from people, I am convinced that it's the healthiest members of families that enter into therapy.

I know without a doubt, if someone could be a fly on the wall, and observe/listen to all of the therapy sessions of the last 500 people in my office, they would be utterly shocked by the enormous strength, curiosity, courage, openness, and competency of all those people. Getting help is what strong people do. It's a badge of honor.

Joe DeBruin