A Letter To Teens About Some Benefits of Counseling
Why Would You Want To Be In Counseling?
Depending on
who you are, there's a reasonable chance you don't want
counseling. That makes sense. Who wants to meet a stranger
and tell them your personal thoughts and feelings? And,
maybe you're not sure what you're thinking and feeling. You
don't want to look dumb or be told there's something wrong
with you. Furthermore, why would you want to be in
counseling if you don't feel respected for who you are as
an individual? Exactly!
Sometimes adults are intimidated by the honesty of young
people. Sometimes intimidated adults (including parents,
counselors, teachers, etc.) say things to try to control
teenagers. When people feel uncomfortable they can get and
act uptight; they may even get angry and yell. That's not
counseling. Yelling or trying to control anyone is usually
a sign of fear. Adults who get aggressive feel frightened
of something.
So, why would you want to be in counseling? If a counselor
is respectful of you and really wants to know who you are,
you might want counseling. If a counselor believes that
most people want to get along with other people (not give
up your individuality, just get along), you might want
counseling. And, if a counselor demonstrates that you are
not "the problem" to be fixed or cured, you might want
counseling. Many times parents must be shown how their
behaviors make life difficult for their kids, not because
they are bad parents, because they have learned to act in
unhelpful ways often out of love for their kids.
Some advice: Ask your counselor or therapist about who s/he
is. Does s/he like meeting with young people and why?
Interview her or him to satisfy your own curiosity about
whether s/he is a good person for you to meet with.
Counselors and therapists are just like regular people;
they're all different. You have a right to see someone you
like, otherwise, why would you want to be in
counseling?
Copyright
© 2001-2010 Douglas Johns, MSW (Feel free to copy and
distribute freely and only
with credit given to the author. You may
contact Doug at the following address:
Doug@CounselingTeenagers.com. However, Doug is unable to
provide any specific advice or counseling to you through
this website. Any attempt to contact Doug through email for
counseling services will not be responded to. Please use
the directory to contact a counselor in your area. And
please read the Directory Disclaimer
before
making your decision on any choice of care.)
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