Do students need therapy? All students in graduate programs should be advised to seek therapy to promote individual growth.
Always ask yourself why am I doing this?
Graduate gatekeepers and practitioners can choose to advertise the pursuit of individual therapy for students. To this point, I believe all students in graduate programs (medical doctors, lawyers, researchers, business, etc.) should be advised to seek therapy to promote individual growth. The well-being/mental health of students is imperative. There is also extensive research in this area. In their own right, psychology programs have the best educational environment to adopt this view.
Mental Health and Academia: Do Students Need Therapy?
Knowing that I would better serve others by participating in my therapy would be great. However, my understanding of individual therapy is not necessarily to help each of my clients. To me, individual therapy is most beneficial due to the overall experience. Participating in individual therapy as a student gives us a chance to fully experience the therapeutic process.
Whether the experience was enjoyable, helpful, frustrating, dissatisfying, etc., all mean “something” to each person. Students should pursue their therapy specifically to be better for themselves. I believe individual therapy makes my role as a therapist easier. I often second guess my abilities and skills as I want to make sure I am learning from my mistakes.
The implementation of our educational training has been outdated. There are ways for programs to identify and implement essential areas of training that can avoid overburdening students. While still challenging them.
Students must understand that pursuing their therapy aids in the understanding of their education and the field of psychology.
Need Therapy? YES!
By participating in my therapy, I can talk about my insecurities and begin to explore them in real-time. We have so much to learn, and our education should not be the only source of creating growth.
With Intention.