Progress and Healing: 4 Alternatives to Psychologists

Life can feel like a perpetual classroom. You’re constantly learning. Sometimes you make mistakes and other times you get a gold star for your achievements. Once in a while, a particular lesson alludes you, no matter how many times you experience it. When frustrations build, you might consider seeing a psychologist, but there are a number of other way to approach your problems. Do some research and see if one of these alternative approaches may work for you.

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)

This is a technique derived from a form of Chinese medicine. It consists of tapping lightly on parts of the body to affect a physical or emotional change. Along with the tapping motion, phrases are said to remove energetic blocks on imbed positive affirmations.

Gary Craig, the founder of EFT, has trained thousands of practitioners around the world. Some practitioners use EFT exclusively while others include it with other skills such as hypnosis or counseling. EFT has been used to treat everything from a fear of public speaking to prescription drug addiction. One of the advantages of EFT is that it is a technique that can be taught to anyone who can then use it at home on themselves.

Life Coach

As the name suggests, this is a person who can give you guidance on various aspects of your life. Their goal is to help you move forward in your life. They tend to not dwell on past mistakes or drama. For the life coach, learning how to live a healthy, productive life is more important than analyzing why it hasn’t worked for you so far. According to Laura Posada of Lauraposada.com, “Having a life coach by your side can help you think outside the box, explore endless possibilities, bounce ideas of someone who wants you to succeed and aid you in developing a detailed action plan which will lead to a brighter future, starting today.”

The life coach is an excellent listener. They will listen to your “story” and help you discover the changes in your life that will make the most difference. Some of the areas this service can help you with include healthy lifestyle, coping with chronic illness, family communication, organizational skills and balancing work and life.

Group Meditation

Originally a technique that came from Eastern spiritual practices, meditation is now recognized as an effective technique for anyone dealing with life issues. Dr. Andrew Weil, famous self-help guru, recommends meditation for many of life’s problems.

There are many forms of meditation and every major city has one or more groups and teachers to support you. Many people enjoy meditating in a group, along with private meditation. You may have to try different techniques to find the one that works best for you. Learning to meditate is fairly simple. Mastering it is where the support of a group is a good approach.

Support Groups

It is easy to think that if you are struggling to deal with a situation, and can’t seem to overcome it, there’s something wrong with you. The reality is that you may be going through a normal experience in that situation. For example, you have trouble controlling a teenage daughter or you are challenged by a spouse’s behavior. Perhaps you are struggling to become a writer or are having difficulty finding a job.

There are numerous support groups around the country where you can connect with other people with the same problems. Meetup.com is a popular place to look for groups. There are several professional organizations that hold support groups. You may discover solutions for your problem by connecting with others who have suggestions you can try. You’ll also realize that there is nothing wrong with you. You just needed to hear some other approaches to your problem.

Before you contact a psychologist, try one of these other approaches. Many of these are a more holistic way at working on your life. You’ll not only find help for your particular frustration, you’ll enhance other areas of your life.