21 Reflections, Professional Counseling

The words "struggle" and "change" are difficult ones for many of us.  For some, those words can be accompanied by feelings of fear or hopelessness. Others may experience a strange sense of guilt, believing these feelings to be a sign of weakness in themselves.  However, these thoughts and emotions do not have to be as scary or lonely when we recognize that we all encounter struggles and change at different times in our lives!  ​ We have all experienced stress or anxiety resulting from changes in life circumstances - relationships, careers, illness and death in addition to so many others.  Sometimes, we are too busy with life to even recognize our feelings. Other times, it immediately consumes every aspect of our lives.   Yet as painful as it may seem at the time, we should always remember that it is through life's struggles that we recognize both the strength that we have - as well as the strength that we need - in our lives.    ​ ​ As we develop, our external experiences impact our internal feelings, thoughts, and personality traits (aka parts). Attempting to understand an individual takes consideration of their external experiences with their parts interpretation. The therapeutic process should be a guided journey into understanding of ones self and all the parts they are made up of.  ​ ​ Changes in the internal system will effect changes in the external system and vice versa. The implication of this assumption is that both the internal and external levels of system should be assessed. Psychotherapy is the opportunity into this personal insight.