In recent years, health insurance companies have encouraged wellness checks. They know the dollar value of early detection – “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. The same is true for our mental and emotional health. As parents, we must prioritize preventative care for ourselves and our families.
We have been called to love and serve God with every part of our being! We all have hearts, souls, minds, and strength. When any one of these parts becomes wounded or hindered, it limits the whole. Troubles can inflict mental and emotional wounds – some big and some small. We can not count on “Time heals all wounds”. In many cases, we need time and the intentional care God uses for our healing.
There are three basic types of mental and emotional care: psychotherapy, counseling, and coaching. Though overlap can exist between psychotherapy and counseling, psychotherapy focuses on healing from and coping with mental disorders. Counseling may also include healing, and can overlap with coaching in its emphasis on growth in personal development.
Allow me to simplify: Psychotherapy seeks to bring healing for mental disorders, like major depression, PTSD, OCD, etc. Counseling seeks to bring healing and growth for issues like grief, marriage, life adjustments and transitions. Coaching seeks to bring growth to self-development, such as time management, life balance, and skill enhancement.
The focus on healing or growth may change, depending on our life circumstances. In times of loss, adjustment or high stress, determining what help we need can be challenging. Begin with a good counselor. Often the counselor will see the need for a life coach and will refer one to them. Why should we seek help?
We need a place to be human. There is a huge misconception that adults must never struggle or must always have the right answers! Most adults seem to have the misconception that they rarely need help from others. We need to recognize God made us a part of civilization so we can be interdependent on others.
We need a safe, confidential, and holistic perspective. Encouraging and neutral input from someone who is not a friend, family member, peer, or boss will help us navigate emotionally charged situations. The Counselor or Coach will help us address the whole person.
We need to know where to go for help before a crisis hits. We know where wise counsels are and how to make contact with them. Remember, plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed. No one should be walking alone.
We need to grow. Not one of us is perfect. We all have areas in which we can improve and grow. Intentionally focusing on growth and working toward wellness can prevent some of life’s common problems from becoming serious problems.
We lead by example. Allowing someone to help us can give others courage to seek help for themselves. Our actions will communicate that we never have to face life’s struggles alone. Our children and those with whom we have influence need to see us gain strength from people whom we consider valuable, so in their time of need, they will never suffer alone. To fulfill all the great things God has planned for us, we need other people in our lives who can help us see God’s love and lean on His support.
None of us like to believe we will ever need mental or emotional care. The cost of such beliefs has been great! The cost of doing nothing is far too great to have to pay! We are worth the investment of time and treasure to care for ourselves!
