10 Reasons People Avoid Seeking Counseling

Deciding to seek counseling is often a difficult decision, which takes place over time. In most cases, people don’t feel comfortable when they see a counselor for the first time. Here are a few of the reasons that prevent or delay people from taking the steps to give counseling a try…

1. “Seeking counseling is a sign of weakness.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. It takes courage to address problem areas and examine painful feelings. Entering counseling is taking the first step in resolving difficulties.

2. “People who go to counseling are crazy. I’m not crazy!”

Everyone could use counseling from time to time, and not everyone is ‘crazy’.. Some people who receive counseling feel “sick” in the sense of being unhappy, but you don’t need to be feeling sick or non-functioning to go into counseling, you just need to be feeling stuck. Counseling helps when you have tried to address a situation on your own but your strategies don’t seem to help. Asking for help is a sign of maturity, self-awareness and possession of a sense of inner strength.

3. “What is someone finds out I got counseling—everyone will know what I talk about.”

Counseling at Lake Orion Counseling Center is strictly CONFIDENTIAL. Therapists must abide by strict ethical standards. It would not be OK for a counselor to inform anyone about what you said—or even that you were seen for counseling.

4. “I wouldn’t even know what to talk about.”

You don’t need to know what to talk about before you come. In counseling, people examine whether there are ways they think, feel and/or behave that they can improve. Your counselor will help you identify these areas and how discussing them could be helpful. In the process of exploring, students often discuss issues such as academic performance, relationships, adjusting to life challenges/changes, managing stress, or choosing a major.

5. “I can’t afford to pay for counseling.”

Counseling is often covered by insurance. Please call us to verify your insurance coverage, and feel free to check our insurance page to see if your insurance provider is listed.

6. “I can always talk to a friend. I don’t understand how talking to a stranger can be helpful.”

Friends can provide wonderful support and empathy, and that’s often enough to help us through difficult times. But a counseling relationship is different in a very important way. In a friendship the needs of both people must be attended to. Friendships involve a mutual exchange of listening and sharing. In counseling, the focus is solely on you and during this dialogue about you, your counselor is trained to use therapeutic techniques to help you.

7. “I don’t believe just talking can do any good.”

Talking can actually do a lot of good. Discussing something with someone who cares about you and who is not judgmental helps relieve the emotional pressure caused by keeping our thoughts and feelings to ourselves. But counseling involves much more than just talking. Counseling provides a way for us to understand who we are and how we relate to the world around us. In counseling we focus our attention on aspects of our experience that we may have been previously unaware of. This provides new ways of looking at our problems and this often gives us new ways to handle these problems.

8. “I’m betraying my family/partner.”

Counselors are sensitive and respectful of concerns about family traditions and privacy. If conflicts about loyalty to family and culture are of concern, these issues can be discussed in the first session before more personal matters are addressed.

9. “If I talk about my problems, I’ll just make them worse, or completely fall apart.”

On the contrary, examining previously suppressed concerns and worries helps dissipate the pain and intensity and helps us understand our problems better. Counseling provides a forum for exploring choices, which produces better decision making.

10. “My employer providers my insurance, and they’ll find out and fire me!”

No employer can access your counseling records. Records are confidential. Neither the fact that you seek counseling nor any information about the counseling sessions will be passed to your employer.