Spending time in nature can be very therapeutic. If you're like me and live in a city, it can sometimes seem challenging to find ways to spend time in nature. However, it's often all around us (or a short walk or drive away) and by simply practicing being mindful - looking up, down, and all around - we can enjoy some of nature's health benefits! Living in New England at this time of year provides an added benefit to being outside - the changing leaves are beautiful!

Have you been considering starting therapy but aren't sure where to start? Are you feeling stuck or confused about the process of searching for a new therapist? In this blogpost I will discuss some of the reasons people seek therapy and share some resources and strategies on searching for a new therapist. If you have suggestions that have worked for you in the past, please share in the comment section!

The first thing you may want to consider before beginning a therapist search is to give some thought to the reasons you're seeking therapy and/or identify what you hope to get out of therapy. Some questions to consider might include: how long have you been struggling with this issue? How does it impact you? What (if anything) has helped in the past? Clarifying your own reasons for beginning therapy can help you, and any prospective therapist, figure out if the two of you would be a good fit to work together (more about client-therapist "fit" below).
 
Why do people go to therapy? People seek therapy for a variety of reasons. Some common issues that therapy can help with are: anxiety, self-exploration, perfectionism/a tough inner critic, feeling overwhelmed, low self-esteem, imposter syndrome, difficult family relationships, grief, trauma, depression, relationship issues, and life transitions (among many other reasons). In short, therapy is for everyone! Even if you are "successful" or a high achiever, therapy can still be helpful. This article from Inc. Magazine details 5 Reasons Successful People Need Therapy. While Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S. on PsychCentral talks about Making the Most of Therapy.

I love the 5 senses technique! It's a super quick way to reorient and ground yourself and be fully present for a few moments. You can also do it anywhere and repeat it as many times as you need to feel relaxed.

How it works: start by taking a few slow deep breaths, letting your exhale be a beat or two longer than your inhale. This will begin to relax your body. Then, follow these steps.
5 – looking around your surroundings, notice 5 things that you can SEE that are the color green (or blue or white or brown, etc.)
4 – notice 4 different things that you can TOUCH (things with different textures, if possible)
3 – next, notice 3 things that you can HEAR (things that make a sound or might make a sound)
2 – notice 2 things that you can SMELL or that have a smell
1 – finally, notice 1 thing that you can TASTE (this can even be the taste of your own mouth)

Finish with a few more deep breaths and...that's it! How easy was that? Aren't you feeling more relaxed? If not, repeat the exercise looking for different items than you noticed the first time around.