Counseling is a process in which a licensed counselor listens openly and without judgment to the issues that are weighing you down and preventing you from living your best life. The counselor can help you through problems that are occurring in your life now, or ones from your past that continue to have a negative influence on your life today. If you’re unsure whether counseling is right for you, refer to the guide below.

Common Issues You Can Heal Through Counseling

1. Anger Management

Some people struggle to manage their anger. Learning healthy ways to cope and express these feelings improves relationships. If your anger is damaging your relationships with friends, family, or your romantic partner, you are taking an important and courageous step by recognizing this and seeking help from a counselor.

2. Improving Relationships

Maintaining healthy relationships takes work.  Relationship skills are developed in childhood with our primary care providers, parents, and grandparents.  For many, this skill is not instinctive. Whether you’re afraid of emotional intimacy and vulnerability, you have trouble trusting others, or you want to learn how to be a better partner, counseling can help.  

3. Coping With Loss

A loved one who has passed, a relationship that has ended, a job that’s been lost—these are all forms of loss that can leave a person reeling. Counseling can guide you through the grieving and healing process, and help you continue to move forward in your life.

4. Physical or Mental Illness

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a physical or mental illness, a therapist can help you process the diagnosis and find a way forward. They may also be able to suggest local support groups so you can connect with others who understand your situation.

5. Resolving Past Issues or Trauma

The effects of childhood trauma, or disruptions in early life, like parental divorce, can linger long after the events have passed. Anxiety, lack of confidence, and inability to develop or maintain healthy relationships, are signs that these early experiences still influence your adult life. Counseling can help you resolve past issues, no matter how deep, so you can develop your inner power to move forward in your life productively.

Fairbanks Psychiatric & Neurological Clinic APC offers counseling and psychiatry services for people who have mental helath disorders, or for those who would like to improve their lives by talking with a mental health specialist. Call (907) 452-1739 to schedule an appointment, or send them a Facebook message if you have questions. Sally Caldwell, LPC-S, is now accepting Tricare and VA insurances.

Special thanks to Sally Caldwell, LPC-S, for her contributions to this article.