Let’s  face it

This year Talkspace is recognizing Mental Health Awareness Month with a campaign called “Let’s Face It” that shares real stories of people who confronted challenges in therapy and emerged stronger, maybe even with some life-changing lessons as a result. Therapy provides a safe space to talk (or text) about things that might feel too uncomfortable or upsetting to discuss in your regular life, and licensed therapists are trained at guiding these conversations so they can be productive and ultimately healing. By shining light on real people’s experiences with therapy we aim to normalize and destigmatize mental health challenges and encourage everyone to keep up the conversation.

Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed yearly in May since 1949.

Mental Health Awareness Month raises awareness for mental health conditions, and seeks to normalize the conversation around mental health. Mental Health Awareness Month is a time to provide support to those struggling with mental illness, educate the public about the importance of mental health, and advocate for policies that support people with mental illness. This month also helps raise awareness around the impact of trauma on the emotional, physical, and mental health of communities and individuals. Mental Health Awareness Month seeks to destigmatize mental health conditions and highlight the need for prevention and treatment.

Talk about it! Share posts on your social media, ask your loved ones how they are doing, and if you think a friend or loved one is having a hard time, reach out. Ask how you can best support them. Share your own mental health struggles with others if you’re comfortable opening up. Learn about mental health conditions to gain understanding so you don’t perpetuate myths or stigma. Knowledge is power.

Progress in therapy looks different for everyone and usually doesn’t follow a linear path. You may feel you are making progress quickly sometimes, while other times you might feel stuck. Some key factors to making progress in therapy are finding a therapist who you trust, learning which therapy techniques work for you, and tailoring coping skills and strategies to your lifestyle. Be realistic with your expectations for therapy; change usually doesn’t come after a single session but several.

Every person’s therapy experience is unique, and your journey doesn’t necessarily have a destination. However, many professionals consider there to be four basic stages of therapy: orientation, identification, exploration, and resolution. 

The first stage is orientation, which involves having your first meeting with your therapist, building a therapeutic relationship, and starting to open up about your mental health. The second stage is identification, where you decide what issues you want to work on and what goals you want to set with your therapist. You may not be fully comfortable yet with them but are working to be more open. As you move through your therapy journey, the exploration stage is next. Exploration describes when you truly delve into the issues you’re experiencing and start working through them. This can be a difficult stage because you’re diving into traumatic memories or reliving tough situations. However, it’s all part of the process to work on yourself and your mental health. 

The last stage is resolution, which can take different forms. You might decide you’re done with therapy once you’ve reached resolution on the issue that motivated you to seek therapy. Or you might decide to switch therapists to tackle different or more nuanced issues. However, you may not ever reach the resolution stage, and that’s okay. For many people therapy is a life-long process and can be tailored to whatever you need at a given point in life.