Please note: The following is not meant to be professional advice to guide your mental health or treatment. These are my thoughts on some topics I’m passionate about and interested in and are based on my experiences. While I refer to some research, I didn’t provide a list of references because this is meant to be fairly informal. However, if you are interested in these topics and would like to know where I got my information from, I can certainly share some of my sources with you.

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One metaphor I often use with clients who are hoping to work on their mental health/wellbeing and see results is that of weightlifting. If my goal is to get stronger, but I only work out one day a week for the hour I'm with my personal trainer, I'm not going to get strong very fast. However, if I take what my personal trainer teaches me and use it throughout the week, I'll both get strong much faster and be making the most out of my personal training sessions each week. This is also true of therapy. Although, certainly, deciding to use your time and money to work with a therapist once a week takes courage and commitment, how quickly you make progress will also be dependent upon how much and how effectively you apply the work you're doing with your therapist between sessions. 

Now that being said, how much you can do between sessions will vary depending on where you are on your therapeutic journey and how much time and resources you have to commit to your mental health at this time between sessions. If you're a busy parent, are drowning at work, are a caregiver for someone with high needs, or have another circumstance which makes it impossible to put any time in outside of therapy, that doesn't mean you can't still benefit. But it does mean that you should be compassionate with yourself and realistic with your expectations. Questions you might want to ask yourself include:

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• On a scale of 1 - 10 how much energy and time am I willing and able to dedicate to improving my mental health and wellbeing right now?

• How much time per day/week am I willing and able to spend on improving my mental health and wellbeing right now?

• What are some things in my life I'm willing and able to sacrifice to make sure I have the energy and time to dedicate to my mental health?

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Everyone is going to have different answers to those questions and no answer is right or wrong. You may have a lot of time and energy and you may have very little. Although how much progress you make and how quickly you will make it will depend on how much time and energy you have to dedicate to it, just like 10 minutes of exercise a day is better than none, 10 minutes of dedicated time to your wellbeing each day can still make a noticeable difference if that's all you have to give. Further, seeing a therapist once a week or every few weeks will definitely help you work through your issues more so than seeing no one at all, even if you don't have a lot of energy to put towards practicing between sessions. 

Wait! What if therapy isn't right for me at this time or I don't have the ability to attend therapy? Can I still do the heavy lifting?

Absolutely! While therapy is something that I believe that everyone should have access to as a part of basic healthcare, unfortunately, that isn't the case right now. Depending on your community, you may or may not have access to low cost community or nonprofit services and doing therapy with a private practice can be outside of some people's means, especially if you don't have benefits. For suggestions on low-cost counselling options and crisis resources in Fort Saskatchewan and the Edmonton area, scroll to the bottom of the page here. 

There are many ways to do the heavy lifting on your own and there are many ways to get started. Figuring out what you want to focus on first is key. One way to do that might be to try out some of the writing strategies that I offer up here. You can also continue to do some reading on topics that interest you, such as the ones in my Musings or through other websites, books, audiobooks, etc. Once you get an idea of your focus, you can start building a mental health routine for yourself that involves activities that you will do regularly as prevention and maintenance. You can also create a "toolbox" for yourself of tools you can use when you're struggling. An example of a plan that addresses an aspect of this can be found in my handout on self-care (see the bottom of this page). Libraries can be fantastic sources of resources that are free, including resources like audiobooks that can be great when you don't have a lot of spare time. I often make use of audiobooks when I have to commute for work as a means of learning or just unwinding. In addition, many therapists and authors have websites chalk full of great resources that you can use on your own. Last, some therapists and community agencies also will do free or low cost community workshops.  

What if I do have some means to put towards therapy, but not a whole lot? One option can be to do an initial consult with a therapist and make a plan with your therapist that involves relatively infrequent sessions. In this case, your therapist can help support you with a lot of tools/suggestions of what you can be doing in between sessions, so that you get a tailored approach to what you can be doing on your own to improve your mental health and wellness. Although you won't be able to get deeply into your issues with your therapist, your therapist can help guide you to tools and resources that will help you do some of that work yourself and help support you in getting into a routine. 

Interested in getting started?

If you haven't yet, you can get to know me a bit here and learn about what services I offer here. This might help you determine if we are a good fit for each other. Even if we book a first session or two and then decide we're not a good fit, that's totally okay! Finding a therapist can be like shoe shopping - not every shoe we try on fits! I'll be happy to help you find an appropriate referral should you need one. If you already know that you'd like to try therapy with someone else, check out Psychology Today to find a therapist in your area or here to learn about free and low-cost services in the Fort Saskatchewan area. 

If you have already decided that you'd like to work with me, you can contact me here for a free 15-minute phone consultation and to set up an intake appointment.