How do I know if I need therapy
How do I know if I need therapy?
This is written for those feeling overwhelmed by all the options out there and trying to identify whether or not they would like to seek out therapy. In the age of AI, social media, coaching, and therapy-based platforms like BetterHelp, it can be difficult to navigate what services to receive and how to find the right therapist for you. We are here to help.
To begin, you’ll want to know what kind of services you’d like to receive.
Coaching vs. Therapy
Coaching is generally going to be less clinical and more solution-oriented. This is going to focus more on goal-setting, going from functional states to optimal states in a particular area of focus in your life such as business/career, relationships, confidence-building, etc. Coaches will often have session packages to work with you for a designated period of time. Although there are plenty of other coaches who might work with you long term, often the general idea is that we are headed to a specific destination based on the package you choose or purpose of your time together.
Therapy can be a bit more complex, for starters we may be working with people at all different levels of functioning, at times bringing them from dysfunctional to functional and others from functional to optimal, and of course people may experience waves of distress in life bringing them back in for a variety of reasons. We are there for all of those stages. You may also experience solution-based therapy such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, in which you can measure progress around behavior change. Most therapists, however, are going to be looking at the fullness of you. What's underneath the surface, what created those behaviors? Where did we learn them? What purpose do they serve? What might they be protecting us from?
AI and Social Media
AI and mental health is a hot topic right now. The truth is we are still learning the impact of AI on our psyche and human connection. AI is a tool and this is something that has been incredibly powerful and useful for many people. I’ve had people say that they feel less alone because they are able to speak to “someone” in the void that finally mirrors them and understands them. Others say it feels insatiable and prompts constant validation.
I placed AI and social media together because I feel similarly about them, although they are very different and as I said, there’s much to be discovered from AI still. I believe that they both provide us with a wealth of knowledge and fleeting feeling that we are less alone. There is also a complex web of connection that happens in both platforms. My weariness as a clinician is that we utilize them instead of the vulnerability of human connection because human connection comes with unpredictability, uncertainty, and potential for rejection. Social media and AI allow us to engage on our terms and they provide us with consistent information and validation. I believe they can be incredibly useful as tools, so long as they are not substituting the deep and meaningful experience that comes with living out the fragility of our humanity.
About The Author
Jenean Cervantes has a master's in clinical psychology from Antioch University and is an associate marriage and family therapist (AMFT138534) supervised by Jeremy Mast, MS, MDiv, LMFT, CSAT, CPTT (CA90961). She helps heterosexual, queer and polyamorous couples on restoring intimacy, trust and guiding long-lasting changes to the relationship. Jenean also works with men with issues of intimacy, partner communication, emotional regulation, infidelity and childhood trauma. Jenean is currently receiving training in Terry Real's Relational Life Therapy. Jenean also has received training in mindfulness techniques, attachment-based and psychodynamic modalities. She interacts with her clients from a trauma-informed, client-centered perspective.
