You would be forgiven for thinking that the only way to true way to get the benefits of therapy is to go to therapy sessions. But it might surprise you that there are other ways as well. Maybe you don't want to have a face to face meeting with someone, maybe you simply can't afford it, or maybe Covid is a big issue for you. No matter what the reason for not wanting to face that kind of therapy it doesn't mean you can't enjoy the benefits of it in other ways.
Online Therapy
When the world locked down due to Covid almost every therapist and psychologist turned to phone and video meetings online. But as the world slowly goes back to normal there are still many different sites to enjoy the benefits of online therapy. It is also worth noting that many of these online therapy sites charge a lot less than their real-world counterparts because they don't have to pay for the office rental space.
Therapy Workbooks
Reading storybooks like 'The Buddha and the Borderline' is not going to make you feel any better, but it might help you to feel not so alone. But there are countless therapy workbooks out there like 'Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in 7 Weeks that guide you on the essentials of that form of therapeutic help. The only thing that is stopping that from working from you is your own motivation to apply the advice to your own life.
Therapy Walks
There is a growing trend of these kind of walks, especially among Facebook groups. In short, it is often a walk with a group of people, with some form of mild yoga, meditation or therapeutic advice thrown in. I have personally benefited from this kind of therapy and the good news is a lot of them are free or just a small fee to join.
Therapy Cards
As long as you are willing to implement the advice on each of the card, not just read them a box of therapy cards can indeed change your life for the better. They often come in packs of 52 (one for each week of the year) and the idea is you try and follow the advice on each one throughout the week. Things like "try to find time to do some breathing exercises" or "try something new, maybe a new food" things like that should help stimulate your senses and emotions to get you back on track.
YouTube Therapy Videos
There and now hundreds of YouTube channels that deliver weekly or even daily therapeutic help and advice. Not only are these channels free, but some of them are fun by some of the worlds top psychologists and therapists of the likes most of us could never afford to have a real therapy session with in the first place. While many of the videos will not relate to you personally there is always one or two that will.
Facebook Groups
Do you find yourself struggling, but feel you just need to talk about your feelings and emotions? If you do maybe a Facebook group is for you. While it is worth noting that no-one on these pages and groups is probably qualified to give out advice, sometimes just putting things out there will make you feel a whole lot better.
Spotify
They say "Music is the soundtrack of your life.", but I am not talking about music here. I am talking about all the therapy Podcats that are widely available on that app. Yes, there are literally thousands of them! Some are from people that just have some good advice and some are from qualified therapists just trying to offer some free help. Why not add a load of them to your playlist and just let that sweet advice fill your ears.
Therapy Apps
My personal favourite out of these has to be 7-cups, but there are many more out there worthy of your phones memory space. Some of them are just pages of advice, some of them are just online therapy groups occupied by normal people willing to offer an open-ear, but there are also some that offer video and text chats with fully qualified therapists.
Therapy Forums
These online support groups are often broken up into distinct therapeutic conditions like a BPD group, or maybe a group all about depression and while they are nearly always just normal, unqualified people talking to you, it is still someone you can relate to and listen to their advice and they are all just a quick Google search away.
Therapy Hotlines
When things really start to get on top of you, you can always turn to therapy hotlines like the 'National Suicide Prevention Lifeline ' or the 'Samaritans' to really help you out. While these are manned by normal people they have often undergone various training to valuations in order to be qualified to talk to you. All you have to do is to pick up and phone with many of the numbers being free.
Well, I do hope there has been something for you on this list, but if you have any other suggestions I would love to hear them in the comments below.
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