What’s the difference between a therapist and a friend?

Some people wonder why you would talk to a therapist when you can *just* talk to a friend. Why spill your problems to a stranger when you can pick up the phone and vent to your BFF? 

There are many reasons why talking to a therapist is very different from talking to a friend. Talking to a friend can be very healing, and friendship is incredibly important to overall wellbeing. Talking to a therapist is a different experience however, and serves a different purpose. 

Your therapist is a trained professional, who has spent many years developing and honing skills to help you manage your struggles in a healthy way. 

Your therapist works within a set of well established regulations, including national and state standards and guidelines, in order to keep you, and the information you share, safe. 

During your session, your therapist cares about only one person: you. It’s all about you, all the time. You don’t have to ask them about their day, or wonder if they’d rather be somewhere else or with someone else. 

Therapy is a safe space, where you get to spend time and care on your wellbeing, without distraction and without judgment. The goal of therapy is for you to develop the tools to live your best life (cliche perhaps? But it’s absolutely true.) 

Most importantly, a therapist doesn’t just listen, they have the tools to help you:

• Learn how to better manage emotions
• Challenge negative beliefs that negatively impact your life
• Learn new perspectives on situations and people
• Learn how to improve good relationships and avoid toxic ones
• Identify negative and positive behaviors, decisions and patterns
• Understand how your past is affecting the present
• Reduce symptoms of mental illness
• Prevent the development of mental illnesses
• Learn therapeutic techniques such as breathing techniques and journaling
• Learn to be more authentic and understand who you are

Really, the best part of therapy is that your therapist is *not* your friend: you are free to say whatever you need to say, however you want to say it, without worrying about how they will feel, how they might react, what they will think of you, and who they might tell. AND you’ll learn new life skills along the way. 

Interested in receiving professional help from a therapist?

Reach out to schedule a session.