Preventive therapy? Preparations brings breakthroughs not fallouts

Preventive therapy? How being prepared brings breakthroughs rather than breakdowns

Therapy articles

There are many opportunities to receive support before a crisis occurs. Therapy is one tool you can use to remain in control of your life, relationships and sense of wellness.

There’s one question I frequently hear my clients ask.

How on Earth did this happen to me?

Mark Colclough, MA

More often than not, I find that people enter therapy once they realise they are facing a big challenge that requires attention.

On unpacking this challenge therapeutically, many of my clients discover that it has not appeared from nowhere – there were many experiences that could be viewed as early warning signs that were not acted on. Are these warning signs always easy to spot? No. However, if you do notice them, it could be wise to seek help sooner rather than after a crisis occurs.

Nothing in life happens in a vacuum

Your life is an ocean of thoughts, insights, feelings and experiences. It is thought that nothing you do in your life happens inside a vacuum and is instead interlinked with complex, overlapping interactions and consequences. Sometimes, you might think a situation has occurred from nowhere. Perhaps your partner suddenly leaves you. Maybe you lose your job, face financial issues or have had an affair. Whatever has brought you to therapy will have had a build-up – whether you noticed it or not.

This is where therapy as a preventative can be enormously helpful.

Taking notice of early warning signs

Whether you are interested in individual psychotherapy or couples therapy, it can be hugely beneficial to seek help sooner rather than later.

Here’s an example to illustrate why this is.

Imagine you and your spouse have a huge argument based on a lack of trust. Imagine you have discovered texts to someone else on their phone that you found hurtful and inappropriate, and the relationship is now at risk of collapsing unless therapy is sought.

Now imagine seeking therapy before it reaches the point of those texts being sent and before the point of a phone being checked. There will have been a lead up to those two actions. It is during that time that therapy can be most successful because if there is doubt over something as fundamental as trust, it’ll only take 3-4 couples therapy sessions to strengthen the relationship. If the trust is already broken, it’ll take 6-11 sessions to rebuild it. And if you leave it desperately late, the relationship may not be reconcilable at all.

Why wait for those early warning signs to appear before taking positive action?

Mark Colclough, MA

The same can be said for individuals. For example, noticing and acting upon the early signs of depression (such as lethargy, insomnia, loss of interest in hobbies), can help to prevent a full depressive episode or breakdown in the near future. For this to have the best chance of success, it’s important that you are honest with yourself about how you are feeling. You could also listen to feedback given to you by family and friends. For example, if someone says you’ve lost a lot of weight or frequently look tired, this could be a sign that something is not quite right – and this is the time when therapy works best.

Therapy works – even when nothing seems “wrong”

Above, we have spoken about spotting the early warning signs that lead up to a crisis and proactively halting the downward spiral that can follow.

You and your relationships are complicated and ever-changing. Your needs, passions, experiences and insights are ever-developing and therapy can help you to deepen your relationship with yourself as you grow and change. You may find that preventive therapy changes the way you respond to difficult situations as they occur. Going back to the example I gave about trust in a relationship – this situation may not have developed in the first place if both parties were in full ownership of their mental wellness and working on themselves to maintain a strong, trusting relationship with others.

I’d like to tell you more about this in a free 15 minute conversation, as well as discuss how and why taking positive steps now could help improve your quality of life both today and in the future.