Good Therapy is Challenging to Find. Try these Four Methods Instead
Listeners, life coaches, communities, and herbs to the rescue
If you’ve been failed by healthcare professionals and/or therapists, here are some resources that can unexpectedly offer you both short and long-term solutions. Because long-term healing often requires many small steps over time to see improvement, the resources below can offer you some tips and guidance along the way. The most valuable healing comes from resources that can reorient you towards tangible solutions, however small.
1. Listeners
- Do a quick search on apps that you can download (such as 7cups) that can provide you a listener quickly who can have a conversation with you and possibly direct you to other resources
- Some strengths of listeners include being able to ask follow-up questions help you reflect and see new insights into your situation
- Listeners can help you reframe your thoughts and mindset towards solutions rather than feeling out of control in the moment
- Listeners, however, are not trained therapists and might not be able to help you in the same way a professional would
- Listeners can still at times teach you some coping skills you can apply in the moment if you ask for it
2. Life Coaches
- Life coaches are like guides who can look into your life and offer valuable insight to give you direction
- Sometimes we struggle with different aspects of our life or feel unhappy with our progress in careers, relationships, health, etc. and life coaches can connect these individual parts of our life together
- Life coaches can find relevant resources for you, which can include worksheets, referrals, activities, etc.
- Life coaches can simply come from your community network, social circles, or apps filled with people who have life and listening experience
- Life coaches offer spiritual insights and help you let go of rigid expectations and surrender to your life circumstances instead
3. Communities
- Communities are a source of rich knowledge and offer diversity in healing systems, but in the world we live in, that knowledge may be difficult to find and requires decolonization work
- Some people in your community may have gone through something similar to you and can offer you guidance or advice, but you must be proactive about asking
- Online communities count too! And during pandemics or other life events, they might complement what you need
- Community knowledge can include knowledge on food, general advice, spiritual direction, etc.
- Communities can sometimes direct you to obvious resources you haven’t thought of, such as diet or simple lifestyle changes
4. Herbs
Some ancient medicinal healing systems come with a whole variety of herbal knowledge:
- Each region in the world has different herbs to offer, so it helps to learn the unique herbs native to the region
- Research and have some understanding of herbs to see how they can complement your overall well-being and be built into your daily routine
- Adding a few supplements or herbs in your daily routine in the beginning can go a long way, but it takes time to reap their benefits (don’t expect life changing results in a few days)
- Find combinations of herbs that work best and possibly increase your consumption over time
- Research herbal shops and resources near you to see what is available and experiment over time with which ones work with your body constitution best
- Keep track of your daily side effects and mood/wellness improvement to get a feel for how they are influencing your life quality
When all else fails, research and try out different things! Sometimes you never know what knowledge or advice you may run into if you actively search for it. People always have knowledge to share because they have life experiences in healing and navigating the same systems as you. They can even share simple herbs or tips with you that can at least help with your overall wellness journey.
Try out different paths even if they are paved with failure — failure can get you closer to a solution later on.