3 Compelling Reasons That Counseling Therapy Can Contribute To Personal Wellness

When it comes to personal wellness, many individuals do not think of counseling therapy as a helpful part of reaching goals. Wellness is often associated with the physical well-being of the body and improving physical health. As a result, counseling therapy is often overlooked as a potential tool to reach health goals and start obtaining better wellness. Understanding the reasons that the counseling therapy can help improve personal wellness will provide a possible solution when facing a complicated problem.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by Joe Houghton
 
Identifying Wellness Goals:
When it comes to personal wellness, many individuals can face challenging dilemmas while trying to identify workable goals. The idea of getting healthy and promoting excellent overall wellness is only the beginning of trying to work toward wellness.
 
A counseling therapy session can help individuals work out the particular goals, such as alleviating stress, reducing anxious feelings or improving eating habits. Counseling is not only about mental health, it is about total health and problem solving.
 
Identifying wellness goals is the first step of improving health. Without setting the final goal and several small goals along the way, it is easy to stop working toward better health. A counselor can help improve the ability to identify goals and start making a plan that works.
 
Getting Past Destructive Behaviors:
Destructive behaviors have the opposite impact as reaching for health and wellness. Depending on the situation, destructive behaviors might range from taking risks to smoking cigarettes or engaging in activities that are bad for the body. A wide range of behaviors are considered destructive and ultimately harm mental and physical health. Counseling therapy can help individuals work on changing the behaviors that are preventing the possibility of reaching the goal of good health.
 
Counselors help their clients identify the underlying causes of destructive behaviors, whether it is eating an unhealthy diet, smoking or drinking in excess. By understanding the cause of the behavior, it is easier to work out a solution that will make it easier to stay on track and reach for better health.
 
Underlying causes of destructive behavior that prevents reaching the goal of good health are variable based on the situation. For some individuals it might relate to mental health conditions. Anxiety, depression or bipolar disorder can lead to behaviors that are not safe or that negate the work put into improving health. Other individuals will find that trauma or an event in life has resulted in acting out in a way that harms personal health.
 
Adapting to Situations:
A problem that many individuals might face when trying to reach goals is adapting to situations. Good health requires a nutritious diet, exercise and the ability to adapt to life’s unexpected situations. Counseling therapy can help when the problems have gotten out of hand and the coping measures to adapt take on behaviors that are sabotaging personal health.
 
Adaptation is a key part of grieving, getting through tough situations or even working out a new schedule based on changes that happen in life. Without learning to adapt to the situation, it is easy to end up eating unhealthy foods or to fall back on old habits that are bad for the body.
 
Counselors are able to offer assistance when seeking a method of working through unexpected situations. Life has a wide range of unexpected situations, so it is important to learn methods of adapting to retain good health.
 
Counseling therapy is not only for those who are striving to work out mental health conditions. It can help in a wide range of situations, including the goal of improving personal health. By obtaining help from a professional it is easier to reach the wellness goals.
 
Cynthia Walker is a family counselor and guest author at Best Counseling Schools, a site with information and resources to help prospective students evaluate counseling degree programs online.