Is Psychotherapy a fit for you?
Struggling with a cognitive, emotional or behavioural issue? Walking the path back to wellness can feel like a lonely journey, especially if people in your life don’t really understand what you’re dealing with. Even worse is when they won’t even try to, basically because they already have their own beliefs.
It’s not everyone’s belief that physical discomfort (pain) has a psychological impact (suffering), emotional distress causes physical symptoms, and talking to someone about your struggles really helps. But having burned out from battling chronic pain myself, it is mine.
I’m David Fairweather, Registered Psychotherapist and Mind Coach, and I’ve changed a lot since I focused my life on self improvement. Gone are the days when i used to study with local teachers and coaches around the corner. I’ve learned that not every physics teacher is Einstein, and that it’s very rare for an Elvis impersonator to be irreplaceable.
These days I seek out world class experts to work with and learn from, because to me, their unique, personal experience is far more important than any amount of personal convenience. It’s often quite inconvenient and costly, but as long as they are passionate about teaching, their lasting value always justifies their temporary price tag.
I’ve been learning and working with patients and clients virtually, long before the global response to Covid pushed the world into live online communication. A small minority used it as an excuse to avoid confronting their issues and terminated their journey with me. But the vast majority found the transition online had almost zero impact on our work, and elected to avoid driving to me and stay online when lockdown was over.
I won’t deny that breathing the same air with patients and clients in clinic and coaching session has some inherent, relational value, but after almost two decades of delivering valuable insights and experiences to patients and clients in person and online, i feel qualified to declare - the really transformative parts of the conversation all happen in your head, not in the shared air around you!
No matter where you live in Canada, your local therapist and any warm bodied coach around the corner can provide you with physical connection, but if it’s highly effective and lasting self improvement you are looking for (and you are prepared to do the work it takes to uplevel your life) I encourage you to seek the best provider you can afford, wherever they are in the world.