A brand new year is approaching. It’s a time for fresh starts, new experiences, and of course, the requisite resolutions. Making New Year’s resolutions is a tradition not only for Americans but for people throughout the world. It just seems wholly appropriate to use a new calendar year as an opportunity to commit to personal and professional improvements.

A 2018 study of 14,000 students published in an American Psychological Association journal found that more than one-third of first-year college students worldwide reported “symptoms consistent with a diagnosable mental health disorder.” Alarmingly, only 15 to 20 percent of the students planned to seek assistance from a mental health professional. We’ve created this guide to help parents and students recognize mental health struggles and provide ideas on how to help.

Stress is the body’s reaction to unexpected changes. When any change occurs, whether it’s positive (birth of a child, a promotion, planning a wedding) or negative (loss of a job, traffic, coming up short of a mortgage payment), your body reacts with physical, mental, and emotional responses. A skilled therapist can help you to better understand the particular elements of your life that cause your stress and help you to get to a better place. 

There is no “statute of limitations” on seeking help for trauma. Working with a therapist can have multiple benefits for victims of sexual assault and abuse and help victims move forward toward a healthier and happier life.

Everyone’s mental health is a highly complex web of struggles and elements of extraordinary resilience. The most effective therapists know this and use many sources of data to personalize treatment. From our vantage point, new technology and increasing openness to using technology to enhance therapy are just beginning to show its true potential for transforming mental healthcare.

Grounded, in part, in historically marginalizing experiences with healthcare and mental healthcare providers specifically, the stigma surrounding mental illness in the Black community is a general deterrent to seeking and accessing therapy. Black/African Americans can continue to feel overlooked, underserved, and misunderstood by the mental health community. We recognize and wholeheartedly believe that understanding the experiences of many minority groups is the bedrock of providing compassionate, warm, and effective care.

Many people think therapy isn’t for them. They say things like, “I’d rather talk to my friends,” “What good would it do?” and “I don’t want to air my dirty laundry.” Let’s look at that further and see if now is an ideal time to explore a new, ongoing relationship with a therapist in DC.

Our team at The Therapy Group of DC understands that deciding to seek out the services of a mental health therapist or licensed professional counselor can be daunting in itself. The next step–finding the right potential therapist for your specific needs and preferences–shouldn’t deter your progress. However, we recognize that when you and your therapist are a great fit, your chances of experiencing life-changing, successful treatment increase exponentially.

At Therapy Group of DC, our goal for our LGBTQ+ clients is to help you find increased self-acceptance, navigate dating and relationships, handle messy family relationships, address anxiety, depression and other health problems, deal with career complications, and better understand your strengths and gifts.