Why is it Important to Celebrate Therapy Successes along the Way to Better Mental Health?

Therapy is a process that has many roads and stages and it will not be the very same process for all people. Some go to therapy for a brief period to work on a discrete goal, while others remain in therapy for years to receive ongoing support.

You might see many or just one therapist. There is no right or wrong way to do therapy if it is working for you – your experience in therapy should be adapted to your mental health needs.

Things will often get bumpy after you begin therapy. Every step counts because for the majority of individuals, improving is none a quick fix, which is why it’s important to recognize every milestone of your mental health progress.

Even just going to therapy in the first place and acknowledging the value of mental health is something to celebrate! Discover the importance of honoring every tiny increment of progress in therapy as a means to create positive momentum, and how to prepare to win.

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The Importance of Small Steps in Therapy

Never forget that small steps are just as important as major breakthroughs in gaining better mental health. It’s not possible to attempt to solve all the things you’re struggling with at once and it’s a setup to become discouraged.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating these minor victories, it is how you gauge that you are on the way to bigger goals. Every small step in the therapy is celebrated which makes you feel good about yourself.

That feel-good energy helps lift your mood, and provides you with motivation in working towards your larger goals.

Celebrating small wins and rewarding oneself regularly helps to avoid long-term burnout. Take time to reward yourself daily or weekly for what you do instead of worrying about a goal weeks or months away.

How to Celebrate Every Step

You may not first think about celebrating small steps over large milestones, but giving yourself credit for even trying when it comes to your mental health can be encouraging and help provide motivation to continue trying and can even help to ensure that trying is a more pleasurable experience.

Here are some ideas of how you might honor every step you take in therapy:

#1 Document your progress

It can be hard to know how far you’ve come if you have no idea where you started on the path to better mental health. Journal your state and what you were dealing with when you first began therapy and track your progress.

With a log of your progress, you can more easily recall and remember to celebrate each of those little (or big) milestones.

If you are a client of Healthy Families of Albuquerque and text with your therapist, occasionally scroll back through old text messages to see how far you’ve come.

#2 Keep a gratitude journal

Compile a gratitude journal or list of things you appreciate. Daily gratitude for things in your life can really help place each step of your mental health progress in perspective.

Celebrate this tiny step: go to get yourself something nice, engage in self-care, do something you enjoy with intention.

#3 Celebrate with a friend

Have a conversation with someone who is aware of your mental health journey and throw a mini celebration. It feels great to have someone supportive to share your success with! A social event combined with a celebration can assist in “hanging on” to the success of that small step mentally.

Therapy is difficult, don’t stop trying. Therapy is not a one shot deal, it often requires weeks or months, even years to work through mental or emotional concerns.

If you hit a bump in the road with your mental health or go through a stressful time in your life, it can often feel disheartening to know that therapy does not provide immediate solutions.

As difficult as therapy may often be, it is absolutely worth it to stay. All of the difficult work of being transparent about what you are going through will pay off in the end. It may take time to see the outcome but if you trust in the process you will get the benefits of therapy.

How to Set Yourself Up for Success in Therapy

So you now understand the importance of acknowledging small wins and how to do that but what other things can you do to prepare yourself for successful engagement in therapy?

Putting yourself in a position to succeed in therapy includes:

Establish therapy goals

Prepare for success by setting some therapy goals for yourself. You can make these yourself or you can work with your therapist to outline some ambitious, but achievable, goals. Discussing and setting goals with your therapist can even help you keep track of where you are in your progress; and when you do get to reach them, you have a tangible excuse to celebrate!

If you are new to addressing your mental health, goals can help you understand what is possible, help to motivate you, and specify areas to work on. Having a goal can help a lot in determining what will work for you.

Celebrate all of your accomplishments, even small ones…

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Your mental health journey is a personal one. Only you know how fast you should be going. But don’t be too hard on yourself. Don’t forget to take time to celebrate your progress and just have the courage to seek help. Make time to relax and think about your own mental wellness.

Don’t be so hard on yourself

Don’t set super strict guideline/goals that aren’t realistic. Your therapist can work with you to determine your expectations and what “success” means.

Be honest with your therapist

It can be difficult to open up, but this is what therapy is for. You only really help yourself when you are completely honest with the person that is supposed to help you.

Many individuals find it difficult to candidly express their thoughts or feelings. And this is one of the most significant challenges to effective therapy. Be open about your feelings and what you are going through. Your therapist can’t help you if they are not aware of what is happening.

Don’t compare

It’s not right nor beneficial to anyone to compare your own mental health to another’s. Do your best to keep a focus on your own progress and acknowledge your own efforts at every milestone. Someone else’s advancement doesn’t affect your own.

Healthy Families of Albuquerque’s aim is to supply readers with the latest, most relevant and objective information about mental health issues in order to empower them to make informed choices.