How Do I Know if I Need Therapy?

 Hello and welcome back to The Therapist Diaries! 

Continuing on with my first time in therapy series, today I’m answering the question “how do I know if I need therapy?”

It’s a question I’ve heard countless times, from clients, acquaintances, and even fellow professionals during vulnerable moments. And if you’ve found your way to this post, maybe it’s been circling around your own mind lately too.

First of all: you’re not alone in wondering.

There’s no flashing neon sign that tells us, “Time to see a therapist!” And despite the progress we’ve made around mental health awareness, there’s still a lot of confusion (and sometimes shame) around what therapy is for and who it’s for.

So, let me start with something simple and maybe a little surprising:

You don’t need to be in crisis to seek therapy.

Many people come to therapy not because things are falling apart, but because they want support navigating something that feels hard, confusing, or heavy. Therapy isn’t just for the worst days of your life, it’s also for the in-between seasons, the quiet struggles, and the places where you feel stuck but can’t quite explain why.

Here are a few signs that therapy might be helpful for you:

* You’re feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or persistently low, even if you “can’t explain why.”

* You find yourself repeating patterns in relationships or behaviors that don’t feel good, but feel hard to break.

* You’re going through a big life change - grief, job transition, break-up, identity shift, and you  feel unsteady navigating it alone.

* You feel numb, disconnected, or like you’re just going through the motions.

* You’ve tried to “fix it” on your own, but things still feel off.

* You want a safe space to better understand yourself, your story, and what you need.

Sometimes the question isn’t “Do I need therapy?”  but rather: “Would it help to talk to someone who’s trained to support me?” Or, “ Would talking to someone not involved in the situation be helpful?”

And if your answer is even a small, quiet maybe, then that’s worth listening to.

As a therapist, I’ve had the honor of sitting with people at all stages of their journey. Some walk in unsure they belong in therapy at all. Some come in sure they’ll only stay a session or two. Some walk in because their court mandated to be there. But no matter how or why they find themselves in my office, many of them go on to discover that the simple act of saying things out loud in a supportive space changes more than they imagined.

If you’re curious, uncertain, or a little scared, that’s okay. Starting therapy doesn’t mean something is “wrong” with you. It means you’re taking your inner world seriously. That’s not weakness. That’s courage.

And if you're wondering about what comes next, how to find a therapist, what kind of therapy might be right for you, or how long it takes, you can check out the earlier posts in this series. We’re walking through this together, step by step.

Whatever brought you here, I’m so glad you’re asking the question.

You deserve support. You deserve to feel seen. And if you want to begin, therapy can be a place to start.

Still have questions about therapy? Comment them below or drop me and email at any time. 

Until next time- be kind to your mind.

—The Therapist Diaries

For professional inquiries please reach out to georgina.m.lloyd@outlook.com