For the Health of it--Reach Out!
“Sometimes you just have to open your mouth and let a professional look inside.”
I have often used an analogy of dentistry to evidence based psychotherapy. I’ve joked, “Sometimes you just have to open your mouth and let a professional look inside.”
As Chaucer, famously said, “many a truth is spoken in jest.” Our societal advancements, civilization, medical treatments, even life expectancy follow a similar trajectory to the advancements in dentistry and psychotherapy.
And, on a rudimentary level, they both involve the client/patient opening their mouth and letting someone question and look inside.
I haven’t personally known anyone who has healed or removed an infected tooth on their own. And, I haven’t known anyone who has healed from the toxic residual of sexual assault by themselves.1
Even if you don’t think you were sexually abused as a child, and even if your life is going well, I still think therapy is a solid move for everyone. Like going to the dentist. Go and open your mouth and let someone with professional objectively look inside.
Evidence Based Psychotherapy can be Beneficial for Everyone
There’s an archaic myth that only the weak or broken go to psychotherapy. Rubbish I say! The healthy go, call it preventative maintenance if you will. Some have cost limitations, or time, or can’t find a good therapist. I was recently notified about a wonderful program at the University of Utah for all Utah residents.2
Here’s the official spiel:
The Department of Educational Psychology at the U of U runs the Utah Community Mental Health Clinic (UCMHC)3. Graduate students complete their counseling practicum hours at this clinic with close supervision by a licensed psychologist and an advanced graduate student. To ensure quality care, sessions are recorded and deleted after they are used for training purposes. The cost of services is $20 per 50-minute session. Clients can request a fee reduction if the cost is prohibitive.
Unlike the U of U Counseling Center, the UCMHC offers services to both U of U students and community members. Anyone living in Utah over the age of 18 is encouraged to set up a free consultation phone call to determine eligibility. We offer in-person or telehealth services for clients living near Salt Lake County and telehealth services for clients living anywhere in Utah.
The UCMHC supports clients with a full range of concerns, including relationship issues, depressed mood, anxiety, stress, coping with illness and disability, grief, sexual orientation/gender identity issues, homelessness, unemployment, and more. Because we are a training clinic, we are not able to provide care for clients whose primary presenting concerns include severe eating disorders, high suicidal risk, active psychosis, homicidal ideation, and substance abuse.4
For the health of it, reach out!
Don’t be afraid. Therapy, in particular evidence based psychotherapy, helps you. Even if you simply need a little smoothing out the rough edges, it’s a good move to call. Don’t be afraid, call or contact them today: https://ed-psych.utah.edu/utah-community-mental-health-clinic/
I wrote a guest post for “Trauma to Strength” last February, and I used my analogy about the dentist for this introduction.
For those not in Utah, I inquired, and it’s safe to say that almost every major university has community mental health programs for local residents.
When I sent this notice out the redirect from mental-health.utah.edu was not redirecting properly. Pesky tech guys!
Go here: https://ed-psych.utah.edu/utah-community-mental-health-clinic/
I have known many adults who were sexually abused as children have eating disorders, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse issues. I wanted to make sure that anyone I referred wasn’t turned away, I was informed that they will help: Every client for whom this clinic is not a good fit is provided 3 referrals of a clinic that is a better fit.