Clinical Psychologist Johannesburg Justine Hunt

Who is therapy for?

Prejudice and misunderstanding about emotional distress and therapy sometimes stops people from using talking treatments. You may feel it is a sign of weakness or inadequacy to seek assistance. The truth is very different; it takes courage to face up to your problems and find better ways of being.

Therapy offers people support when they are going through difficult times.

Deciding to seek help for something you're going through can be really hard. It may be your idea to go to therapy or it might not.

Sometimes spouse/partner, friends or family may bring up the idea first because they notice a person they care about is in a difficult situation, is losing weight, struggling with alcohol or other substances, or seems unusually sad, worried, angry or upset.

Some people welcome the idea or even feel relieved. Others might feel criticized or embarrassed and unsure if they'll benefit from talking to someone.

Here are a few reasons people may start therapy:

• needing to make a decision about a specific thing
• feeling sad, depressed, worried, shy, anxious or just stressed out
• relationship problems
• excessive dieting or overeating
• chronic illness (such as diabetes or asthma, HIV, cancer)
• separation and divorce
• problems with alcohol or addiction
• a traumatic event, hijacking, death of a loved one, rape, miscarriage
• problems controlling anger
• wanting more self-confidence or better social skills
• work related problems
• feeling dead, numb, stuck or disconnected from life and people