With a change of season tapping gently on our windows so follows the usual tropes about spring cleaning, decluttering and preparing for growth and renewal. We tend to picture this as cleaning out the closets, rearranging the furniture or pulling up the weeds; but what if we focus instead on our minds?
Therapy (whether counselling or psychotherapy) can be excellent for decluttering our minds, sorting through heavy mental loads and resetting our internal compass. As Carl Rogers, one of the founders of Humanistic Psychology, wrote: “”When we bring awareness to our thoughts and feelings without judgment, we create the space necessary for clarity, growth, and the release of mental clutter.”
How could therapy help you this spring?
- Enhance Emotional Regulation – Counselling provides techniques such as cognitive restructuring and mindfulness, which can help you regulate emotions and reduce overwhelming thoughts
- Provide a Safe Space for Expression – Verbalising thoughts and emotions in therapy can help you process and organise your concerns, making them feel more manageable
- Teach Problem-Solving Skills – Therapy helps you break down overwhelming issues into manageable steps, reducing mental overload, releasing built up stress before it overflows and building a personalised toolkit of coping strategies
- Provide Unconditional Positive Regard – Experiencing acceptance in therapy fosters self-acceptance, allowing you to let go of self-doubt and intrusive thoughts
- Offer a Fresh Perspective – Therapy offers a space to step back and gain perspective, taking a ‘helicopter view’ rather than being overwhelmed by all that’s in front of you
- Facilitate Self-Actualisation – Therapy helps you to clear mental clutter by encouraging self-exploration and personal growth, leading to greater clarity and purpose
These are just a few of the ways therapy can help you; think of it as an investment in your self; by unpacking your mental baggage, developing your own personal wellbeing toolkit and reframing your thoughts, you can face the future with a new perspective.
Here at Mind Garden we have a range of highly qualified and experienced counsellors and psychotherapists who can help you on your personal journey of mental decluttering this spring. Take a look at our find a therapist where you can narrow your search by your main concern (anxiety, grief etc) or scroll through our available therapists to find one who feels right for you.
References:
Bugental, J. F. T. (1987). The Art of the Psychotherapist. W. W. Norton & Company.
Gross, J. J. (2015). Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects. Psychological Inquiry, 26(1), 1-26.
Pennebaker, J. W., & Seagal, J. D. (1999). Forming a story: The health benefits of narrative. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55(10), 1243-1254.
Rogers, C. R. (1961). On Becoming a Person: A Therapist’s View of Psychotherapy. Houghton Mifflin.
