Jen Hutchings, Ph.D, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

I think the fact that you’re asking the question and considering contacting a therapist means that you could benefit from therapy.

Typically, clients make that first call and schedule their first appointment when they felt that things were starting to feel out of control and affecting areas in their life such as relationships, jobs, health, or mood.  They often realize that what they are trying on their own is not working and that they could benefit from an outside perspective to help them identify and make changes.

Some symptoms may include feeling overwhelmed, stressed, anxious, depressed, sad, out of control, irritable, and angry.  Things that didn’t bother you before now make your skin crawl.  You make find yourself overreacting at situations or feeling extra sensitive.  You fly off the handle at those close to you – or even strangers.  You find it hard to get motivated about your daily life.  School, work, hobbies, and even relationships feel like a burden at times.

Often, people will experience physical symptoms, such as headaches, gastrointestinal issues, fatigue, and pain that a doctor cannot find a cause for.  They often visit several doctors and undergo numerous tests, with no findings that help explain their symptoms.

Many people come in for help with relationships that seem to be spiraling out of control.  Symptoms of relationships that are out of control include lack of communication and connection, increased conflict, and even affairs and abuse.

Others report that they’re not sure what is wrong, but they just know something is not right.

It is a huge step to ask for help.  Many people usually think about therapy and wait until things get really bad before making a call.  There many reasons for this – as far as the field of mental health has come in our society, there is still a stigma about  therapy -  a message that we should be able to handle all of our problems on our own.  Similar to physical health, there are times when an outside perspective with expertise and experience can help you move to a new place faster than on your own.  So many times, people wait until things get too bad to fix.

I know how difficult it can be to ask for help.  I am constantly amazed by those who have the courage to ask for help.  I will work my hardest to instill hope as well as specific, creative strategies for change.