Overcoming Fear of Going to Therapy

Take The Pressure Off

• Try to take the pressure off yourself as much as possible

• Putting pressure on yourself can include:

  • Judging yourself

    • I’m so dumb

    • Why is it so hard for me to ask for help?

    • It should be easier to ask for help

    • There’s something wrong with me

  • Demanding yourself

  • Ruminating and overthinking

    • What if….

    • If this happens, then….

  • Internalizing your thoughts and feelings (keeping things inside and not airing it out in some way)

  • Black and white or binary thinking

    • I need to

    • I must

    • I should have

    • I must

  • And more

• Try to avoid demanding, labeling and/or judging yourself for not going to therapy

Acknowledge Your Feelings

• Simply name your feelings out loud

• Take a big breath and see where your feelings live inside of your body

• This can help with self validation and normalizing your feelings around going to therapy

Educate Yourself About Therapy

• Learn about the process of therapy

• Learn about the types of therapists (social workers, mental health counselors, psychologists, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists)

• Learn about the types of therapies (CBT, DBT, EMDR, CPT, PE, IPT, IFS, etc.)

• Learn about what makes therapy effective

Practice Patience

• Slow down and take a pause

• Wait

• Notice things without judgement or demands

  • I’m noticing I have a tendency to rush right now…

  • I’m noticing it’s really hard for me to slow down and practice patience right now…

• There’s no need to pursue therapy right at this exact moment, you can take a pause or delay it for later

Ask Friends & Family

• Ask trusted people in your support system about their experiences of going to therapy (what helped them, how did they seek out help, what was challenging, etc.)

• Ask trusted people in your support system about their beliefs about mental health and therapy

• And more

Try Out One Session

• No need to attend multiple sessions of therapy, so try one session out and see what it’s like

• If you enjoy the session and find it helpful, schedule another one

• If not, then pause and/or don’t pursue therapy at this time

• It could also be a poor fit therapist or approach and you need to find someone else

Practice Compassion For Self

• Asking for help must be difficult for you so strive to be compassionate toward yourself

• You can try the following phrases

  • I am doing the best I can at this very moment with what I know and have

  • The causes, conditions, and experiences of my life have contributed to my fear around going to therapy

  • Instead of treating myself with criticism, I choose to try to treat myself with kindness

  • I am not alone in my experience. There are others out there who are unsure or scared of going to therapy. This is a common experience even if I don’t believe it yet.

Communicate With Your Therapist

• If you do decide to pursue therapy and engage in treatment, try to talk things out with them such as:

  • Your ambivalence around therapy and treatment

  • Your fears, uncertainty, and anxieties around therapy

  • And more