#online therapy options

[solhwellness]

How To Choose The Right Therapist For You? | Solh Wellness

One frequently wonders this when thinking about counseling or therapy. Most of us either go to a therapist that has been recommended to us or use web listings to identify nearby ones. We discuss our own experiences in therapy with our counselors because we connect with them personally. We also seek their advice on how to handle challenging situations that have a negative impact on our mental health. 

Look for these thing while finding the right therapist :

Credential: Verify the therapist's credentials to learn if they possess the abilities needed to address your difficulties. Finding a relationship counselor would be wise since they can approach your illness more gradually and successfully than a therapist who concentrates on rehabilitation. Every therapist has a certain area of expertise.

Compatibility: An effective course of treatment depends on the relationship that develops between the therapist and their patient. Although it may be thrilling to have a terrific therapy session, not everyone will experience the same results. It's crucial that you feel at ease and connected to your therapist. Collaboration, effective communication, and a common understanding of the goals and therapy modalities make up the "therapeutic alliance". According to research, the therapeutic alliance is more significant than any particular therapy strategy. Regardless of therapeutic approach, patients seem to react better to therapists who actually care about them. In order for the alliance to stay strong, therapists are encouraged to observe interactions and address any problems that might be impairing communication or trust. Eventually, the therapist-patient interaction has a significant effect.

Therapy: When choosing a therapist, take into account your preferences and general health. Effective short-term therapies for anxiety and depression include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy. Psychoanalytic therapy might be better in some situations. Somatic experience and other body-centered therapies can be used to cure trauma. A therapist's methods will vary depending on your needs.

Things to remember after scheduling an appointment:

We've talked about how crucial a good fit is, but here are some questions you can ask the therapist and yourself to guide your decision: 

Comfort and Connection:  Is it alright if I share and open up to this person? strong sense of empathy and focus on the part of the therapist.

Agenda and Commitment:  Without asking you or describing your options, are they pressuring you to make a decision?

Credentials and Expertise:   Are they aware of your condition? What are their qualifications?

Therapy Options:   Can they explain why one therapy would be more useful to you than another?

Fees and Billing: How is payment managed, and is there flexibility?

Collaboration: How do they work together with your primary care physician or therapist to improve the standard of service?

Availability:Do they offer evening or weekend hours, and how often should sessions occur?

Goals:  What are the predetermined therapeutic goals and outcomes?What are the pre-set therapeutic objectives and results?

What to expect during treatment and how to decide when to stop:

Initial Challenges:The initial signs of latent issues frequently worsen. If this is making you think about stopping, speak with your therapist first.

Emotional Shifts:It's typical to feel conflicted about your therapist; this is referred to as "transference." Fighting this prevents early failure and deters erroneous advancement.

Engaging with Homework:   Plans for therapy, such as CBT, could call for relaxing activities like journaling. If you disagree with it at this point in your growth, your therapist should check into it.

Therapeutic Goals: Discover fresh information about your relationships, health, and self. increased self-care, improved anger, hopelessness, and anxiety control, and prevention of relapse.

Medication Transition: Work with your mental health professional to safely lower your medication usage if at all possible. Self-adjustment should be avoided due to its risks.

Closure Talks: Talk to your therapist about stopping therapy once you have achieved your goals. Your success benefits from outside input from friends and family because it provides fresh perspectives.

Sustained Progress:Keep in mind that development often continues long after therapy is over.

Conclusion

The decision a therapist makes can have a big impact on how well therapy works to promote mental wellness. It's important to give this decision significant thought, considering qualifications, a personal connection, and the sort of therapy into account. Progress is based on a solid therapeutic alliance and open communication. Accepting challenges, controlling emotions, and actively engaging in treatment duties are crucial throughout the therapy process. Setting goals, taking medication changes into consideration, and making preparations for closure are all important as therapy progresses. In the end, therapy is a collaborative process that, when carried out with deliberate thought and effort, can result in long-term personal growth, enhanced wellbeing, and advancement.

Solh Wellness' "Solh Discovery Session" aids clients in locating the most appropriate therapist for their requirements and is one of our many comprehensive mental health services. In order for you to practice self-care and mindfulness, we also offer tools and resources for self-help.

[bigmammallama5]

i turned in my paperwork to start selling pots in our art center's gallery shop, so now i gotta bust my ass again to get some more work churned out (which this is very cool, and i need to provide some mugs for a special instructor's "mug event" now). i went and looked around and there wasn't a terribly broad array of work? cups, bowls, mugs, some smaller serving dishes, mostly functional work. i'm thinking i'll do cups, mugs, some small bowls for ease, then i'm thinking some pumpkins (with or without a face or a lid idk), some little shroomies which are easy and cute, and then if i can get them right maybe some of those tumblers with the half lid for straws? maybe some wild clay slip...

but now bc i'm teaching more and i might have a little extra from this now, idk if i'll have the time to dedicate for illustration commissions like i had been hoping to do. im still gonna think about it, and at the very least might find a new online shop to offer prints that isn't redbubble. it's not a light decision to consider. :/

[but-the-library-of-alexandria]

in 2024 I wanna stop hearing about betterhelp

[imjustexistingtbh]

i need to get back into therapy

[aropride]

i have therapy tmrw and im scared ☹️ i dont want to talk about and process my feelings i want to lie in bed and feel scared

[introvert-celeste]

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[herawell]

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[poorlittlevampire]

by the way idk what im supposed to do bc i don’t think the meds im on work anymore

[buyinggf]

having one of those days where i just shouldn't have

[emilyofjane]

I really wish I was that kind of person who regularly goes to therapy, but traditional face-to-face communication just doesn’t work for me.

My ADHD makes it so that my brain is moving too fast for my mouth to keep up, and adding social anxiety on top of that, I never end up saying everything I need to say and I always leave therapy feeling like nothing was accomplished. I’ve written letters and outlines for my therapists before, but because therapy sessions are so verbal-based, the conversation always ends up going in a different direction than I wanted.

That’s why I rely so heavily on the internet for socialization; when I write, I can slow down enough to actually communicate my thoughts clearly, and I’m allowed to take my time to answer questions thoroughly without feeling pressured to immediately respond like in verbal conversation.

I just wish that online therapy was more accepted and normalized, because for some neurodivergent people, traditional therapy just doesn’t work.

[sanchos]

why on EARTH is therapy so expensive

[whimsyprinx]

idk what I did to my eyes but I’m crying and it stings and hurts so bad abhdjd???

[transmechanicus]

this is. probably a very personal question.

Is it worth it? Transitioning? In spite of it all?

Completely, utterly, and absolutely. I’m one of those ppl who knew i was trans since i was like 8. I found out when i was probably 13/14 what transgender meant, but recoiled from it because i could not imagine a world that would accept me or where i would be happy with the result. At 15 i met my first other trans person, and they became my friend and partner and the first person to ever know i was trans. Being around them, known by them, was such a colossal psychological relief and source of joy unlike anything i had known before. It made separating from them after graduation all the more excruciating to lose that one person i had trusted with that truth.

Sometime over the next two years i came out to my Mom, but nothing really changed, and i had more or less resolved to rot and die under the identity i had been born into. I let my undergrad studies chew me up, neglected all but the most necessary body maintenance, and spent every moment outside work or class buried in video games or books. At some point something snapped out of place, or perhaps back into place. I knew i didn’t want to die like this. I wanted something more for my life and my flesh than being a half dead servitor stocking yogurt. I wanted to transition, and however slowly, however long it took, that’s what i resolved to do.

It took a while. I had no real finances, no privacy, and little independence. I was coming from a white low-self-expression, high-control household. I “messed up” while base coating warhammer models one time and gave myself black nails. My dad berated me about it for days before trying to pin my hands down and sand the paint off (didn’t work, thank you automotive primer). When i was ~22 i got my ears pierced, basically the first permanent part of my transition, and i had never known as much joy as i did driving home knowing the pain was a step of permanent progress. Around this time 2019/2020 i started being out online, more vocal about being transgender as opposed to just having a relatively inexpressive fandom blog with no info beyond my name.

When i was 24, two years ago i came out to my dad, and a week later i left for grad school halfway across the country. I had an apartment all to myself, and my own source of income. I spent my spare change building up a wardrobe of new clothes that i actually liked. I got my first year of grad school done mostly without anything remarkable. Went to some queer events at my school. Found a partner. Got loved to bits for a while. Re-came out to my parents over the summer, and this time it stuck. Started HRT that fall, 2023. Came out to my classmates and coworkers and was rewarded with support and acceptance. Lost the partner. Devastated. Resolve to get even hotter and cooler. Smash out 3 piercings and a tattoo inside a week. Develop personal fashion sense. Attend research conference. Get better at makeup. Go to some concerts. Increase HRT. Tiddy Arc. Buy bra with a supportive bestie. Start weekly therapy. Increase HRT. Cosplay at a major convention. Schedule another tattoo. More HRT. Bra no longer optional. Present day. Tattoo on Wednesday. 90% of progress packed into the last year or so. Undeniably hotter, happier, and more self-expressive than anything in the last 24 years prior.

Transitioning is more than worth it, it brings me so much relief and joy every day no matter how shitty my day is otherwise, and while i have known doubt, i have never for an instant known regret.

There is still time🖤🏳️‍⚧️💕

[honeytonedhottie]

a glamorous well-being⋆.ೃ࿔*:･🌸

i've decided to write this post to remind my audience that you're own well being comes first and just share some ways on how you can focus on ur well being in small steps that can gradually build a lifestyle.

BEAUTY SLEEP ;

go to bed at a reasonable time and wake up at a reasonable time. when ur well rested you'll feel and look your best. theres a reason why ppl call beauty sleep beauty sleep.

when u dont get enough sleep ur skin is dull, you'll start to have eyebags beneath ur eyes and can even shorten ur life span. and thats not hot.

if u feel like it'll make u more well rested, take a midday nap. if u find that u have problems sleeping, having a before bed routine that soothes u can rly help u to sleep like the angel that you are.

drink a warm cup of tea before bed

do gentle stretches

take a soothing bath or shower

DIGITAL MINIMALISM ;

we experience the fear of missing out bcuz of our habit of consuming hundreds if not thousands of unnecessary information every single day. in a way we've become information addicts.

no scroll mornings - cutting a habit completely might be hard so dont jump in with both feet immediately. go little by little.

digital declutter - intentionally cut out optional online activity and instead focus on something in person like ur community, urself and ur projects

APPRECIATING SILENCE ;

if the weather permits, i rly recommend going for walks. walking is not only good for ur body but also ur mind and getting fresh air and sunlight is rly good for u and important.

start doing guided meditations

go on daily walks to get some fresh air

JOURNALLING ;

journalling is so easy and fun and glamorous. i love the concept of journals bcuz its just such a cute way to get everything from ur mind onto paper which is helpful.

to journal with the intention of improving ur well being i recommend to get into shadow work cuz its like journal therapy. i'll link a post with shadow work prompts right here, that way you can have a place to kind of start off from.

other then simply doing shadow work journalling or maintaining a diary of sorts is also helpful for ur well being bcuz it showcases ur growth and its a great way to cultivate a sense of self without fear of judgement or privacy invasion from others.

TAKING BIG STEPS IN EASY WAYS ;

i think that the secret to overall wellness in the most glamorous way possible is a bunch of little habits that can contribute to an overall beautiful and glamorous inside and outside.

so focus on building habits before you make a huge lifestyle switch. not to confuse this with not being all in. you must be all in otherwise you'll fall back into unhealthy and old patterns for the sake of comfort.

but thats not hot, you can take baby steps while still being all in. commit to a more vibrant and more well self cuz you'll thank urself in the long run.

[notquiteaghost]

well i pushed thru it to do things so now i am more dissociated & struggling to make sentences but i really need to write out the thoughts. this also shouldn't really be a tumblr post this is a journal entry but half of what's getting me to write it is using my nice keyboard so,

that IS one of my few other good coping strats: if i make The Task as enjoyable as possible, i'm more likely to do it. this is half of why i eat more expensively than i ~should considering my income cuz yeah i could only eat 30p bags of pasta with 50p jars of sauce but what that wld actually mean is i wldn't eat.

the main fucking problem i am having now i am employed again is. there's the tasks i need to do to Have Job, and there's the tasks i need to do to Continue Living, and both of those are demands. and my primary coping mechanism for doing A Demand is dissociating away from my feelnigs and doing it anyway. and what this means when i work four days a week is a) i have NO bandwidth left for having any other feelings, even positive ones, & b) i spend the other three days recovering. but to recover in this cycle i need to. avoid demands. and the only demands left to avoid on my days off are the Continue Living ones. plus the Have Fun tasks. i could have spent the last four hours playing disco elysium!!!

and. just. i need a coping strat that isn't just Ignore It. because that is patently not actually working. but what IS that coping strat. i don't have time to gentle parent myself every day before work, i have already factored in 25 mins of lying in bed Not Wanting To Get Up and i still frequently decide to skip parts of my morning routine so i can spend longer lying in bed Not Wanting To Get Up. and i cannot wake up earlier if i start before midday cuz i need the sleep.

but i can't get a DIFFERENT job because this is my IDEAL JOB. it's in easy walking distance i'm good at it the hours are doable and i like everyone there. and i will run into the same exact problem with basically any other job that ticks those boxes cuz the demand avoidance doesn't want to be employed the demand avoidance wants to lay in bed until i fuse into the mattress. is that the root of this problem

fucking. no okay we're here we're unpacking that. the demand avoidance needs autonomy. i have a long history of being made to do things i do not have the mental bandwidth for. due to the demand avoidance we can probably also call that history trauma. the desire to lay in bed forever is a reaction to being repeatedly made to do things despite being too exhausted. i am however no longer a child being forced to go to school and learn things i have no interest in in a room of people i do not like. and i did in fact GET to lay in bed extensively and it didn't help! it didn't help did it! it cannot be the one true desire when it doesn't help. what if the one true desire was contentment. what if instead of stagnation we chose growth. what if we are not chained forever to the impulses of an incredibly depressed fourteen year old

easy to type that very difficult to do it. okay. but that at least is the root of the problem isn't it. it IS my choice to go to work. i CHOSE this job and i LIKE it. i do get to decide how i spend my time. no one will be angry at me for what i choose.

i do not have a good enough memory to be this avoidant. long breath out. okay this is a start.

really need a strategy for dealing with the demand avoidance gremlin that isn't "dissociate enough it's ignorable to get through to the days off then spend the days off lying in bed less dissociated but absolutely unable to move". taking suggestions.

[autball]

Part 5 of a 5 part series about the ways harmful practices are being made to sound more appealing and how to spot the differences between helpful and harmful approaches.

Communication support is a desperately needed thing for so many autistic people and their families. So unlike some of the other things I’ve posted about this week, this is 100% a worthy goal. Unfortunately, many places that claim they can offer it are not delivering. 

In some cases, they simply don’t have the education to properly support communication needs (I’m looking at you, ABA). Other times they do have the proper education (ie Speech Language Pathologists) but they will gatekeep certain methods of communication, either because they believe harmful myths about them or they haven’t been trained in that particular method. Also, not every SLP knows about Gestalt Language Processing, so even an otherwise great therapist could be missing some information.

So here are some questions to ask when trying to figure out if someone is truly capable of offering well-rounded, neuro-affirming communication support:

Are they more concerned with making the client easier to deal with for others, or are they focused on the client’s rights, needs, and wishes? (We’re looking for the second one.)

Do they address the client directly, or do they speak as if the client isn’t even in the room? (We’re looking for the first one.)

Do they see speech and language as a behavioral thing? (Verbal Behavior and PECS are dead giveaways - and we want a NO.) 

Do they understand that an inability to produce speech has no bearing on a person’s ability to think and feel? (YES✅)

Do they only push for speech, see speech as the end goal, or value speech above all other methods of communication? (NO✅)

Do they honor things like echolalia, pointing to objects, and bringing an adult over to something they want as valid communication? (YES✅)

Do they honor things like refusal to participate, crying, and meltdowns as valid communication? (YES✅)

Do they believe that things like pacifiers, AAC, or responding to “non-functional communication” discourages speech/“functional” communication? (NO✅)

Do they know about Gestalt Language Processing and believe it is a thing? (YES✅)

Do they require “pre-requisites” before they will try alternative communication methods? (NO✅)

Do they require the client to earn time on their AAC device or remove the device when they deem it a distraction, essentially taking away their voice? (NO✅)

Do they know who to send you to if they aren’t personally trained in an approach they think would be more helpful? (YES✅)

Obviously, trying to find someone local to you with all the green flags and no red ones is kind of like trying to find a unicorn for most people. But if you have a choice between two or more therapists, you can at least go with the one who has more right answers and be ready to advocate/educate when needed. 

If you literally have only one option available to you and it’s not a good one, you can either be ready to advocate at every turn or just choose not to use their services. Yeah, that’s allowed! Not every autistic person needs speech therapy, and not all communication support has to be directly administered by a professional. You as the parent or caregiver will play a huge role in supporting your person with their communication needs, and luckily there are online resources and virtual trainings that can help you do that.

P.S. What’s the difference between PECS and picture cards, you ask? PECS is a whole ABA-based program that uses a limited set of picture cards and should be avoided for several reasons. Meanwhile, plain old picture cards are something that can be made and used by anyone without any specific program.

P.P.S. Zero debates about the legitimacy of Spelling to Communicate (S2C) or Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) will be entertained (translation - it will be deleted so don’t waste your time).