Life is better with friends. Hope you all knew that. Friends are the one who reaches you all the time, and they will be with you in both thins and thicks of life. But have you ever thought why people say friends should never replace as therapists?

Though they love you from the bottom of the heart, they don’t suit or fit as a good therapist.

Before stepping into the reasons why friends should never replace therapists, you must know that approximately 1 in 6 adults is experiencing mental health issues in the United States. In America, it is lucky to witness celebrities using their platform to raise awareness.

Friends and family are the best pillars you can rely on, but the benefits that you get from therapists will be more comparing to the non- professional. We have absolutely come a long way when it occurs to destigmatizing the world of mental health.

There are many drug and alcohol treatment centers available to help persons who are struggling with mental health issues. Maybe you feel shy or feel embarrassed to get help from others who are not from your family or friends.  But you have to understand the benefits you gain from the therapy or therapists.

These are the 7 reasons you must know in order to understand ” Why friends should never replace therapists”.

1. The therapist will not judge you:

The therapy is completely private which gives room for complete privacy. You can talk with your therapist without fear of your story getting revealed. You might come across things where you are afraid or feel embarrassed to talk about them. It’s true that you can discuss them with friends freely, but the confidentiality you get from the therapist will be lacked. Talking with the therapist without the fear of being judged is one of the biggest perks.

Another advantage of hiring a therapist is they can observe the good and bad pattern in you. As a therapist, they can point out these patterns and also will help to employ and enhance the same. Observing the patterns helps to identify what doesn’t work well and the therapist will work to neglect that pattern. Consulting a therapist or depending upon the therapy will help the substance abuse addicts to overcome their problems particularly the relationship problems.

2. Friend can’t help you figure things out as the therapist does:

 Friends, on the other hand, doesn’t want to hurt your feelings, so they will not be honest with you. They avoid things that hurt your feelings and fail to say things in a straightforward. Speaking frankly, a therapist should be there to guide and give possible ideas to you. The problem you may face with friends is they care about your relationship and they agree to the things whatever you say. To tell about family, they advise you to protect you and, to minimize your result and also they see the problem in their own perspective. The therapist can be completely honest & objective, as they do not have a personal stake.

Friends may share the ideas that suit you and the ideas that are best for you, but they support to help you figure things on yourself whereas the therapist will look deep inside your problems and teach you the pathway you can use when you need it again. Therapists support self-reflection and allow people to find solutions on their own; these methods can help people live more satisfying lives.

3. The therapist is needed to maintain your secrets:

 If you replace your friends in the place of therapists, you are definitely showcasing a way for you both a tough time. It’s a tough time if you are venting about someone they also have good contact with. While it’s necessary to only disclose to those who you have complete trust in, with a therapist, you don’t have to bother that something you stated in confidence will be changed into gossip or reverted to the wrong person. All therapists have methods of treating people to feel content. Some therapists will pay attention even to your body languages when words couldn’t be revealed. They will develop conversations in a natural way and, they will also invite you to ask queries even which you seem silly.

4. Therapists have a handful of experience to help you address the issue:

 Even though your friend and family listen and supports you, a clinician has a better experience that they can even understand your psychological behaviors. Adding to it, the therapist will give you coping strategies to overcome your dysfunctional thoughts or emotions. You might feel dependent on them but they use to measure their success by the ability of the learning aspect of the addict.

5. There is no need to feel guilty when you need them:

Any relationship can be ruined if you are constantly using others for support. You can feel free with the therapist and also should make sure that it shouldn’t be a two-way street. The therapist will never expect anything from the clients except the result. Most of the relationship you have in life, seek something in return. For say, if it is your parents, you must be their child; if its a friend then you want to give your friendship back.

It is difficult for the friends or family to understand the pain you are undergoing. Depending on the therapist, will make you feel comfortable. The truth is everybody encounters and manages life events from a different perspective.  A therapist will realize that everyone is on their own track when it comes to settling in a new job or getting over relationship problems or working on any other obstacle etc.

6. Communicating with wrong people may make you feel bad:

Communicating or talking with the wrong person may make you feel bad since your friend or family might be facing difficult times. So you can’t share your intimate struggles with them. In another perspective, they might not have the ability to hear your story or can’t be able to understand you.

If you are sharing your intimate odds with the persons who have not to deserve the right to listen to them, or who may make you feel minimized or judged, it might damage you more. Obviously, you might have true friends or family who understand you, and who can help you in your need but the irony is that you should have a therapist to figure out which of your friends are the best to talk or share to.

7. A therapist can help you grow as a person:

 Because of their practice, a therapist is uniquely provided to give you insight within your behaviors that can encourage you to grow in ways that might be difficult on your own.

For instance, if you are struggling in the pain of a breakup, you might think talking or consulting a therapist would be an overreaction. But it’s not. It’s one of the healthiest things you can prefer, and also it is recommended by the other clinicians too. A breakup gives chances for personal growth. It’s an opportunity for people to realize things about themselves they never would have recognized had they simply talked to friends and family.

Last Line:

Many clinicians prefer a therapist rather than friends or families. Hope you would have understood why friends should be never replaced as a therapist. Make sure you choose the right person for your therapy to get a benefit out of it.

About The Author:

Yamini is a content strategist at Bright Bridge Infotech, Addiction Recovery Center and she enjoys learning about the Addiction Recovery field. She specializes in guest blogging, blog publishing, and social media. She is an avid reader and loves writing impeccable contents pertaining to Addiction Recovery. She holds a bachelor degree in commerce.