So you have a problem and you're not sure where to turn; do you need professional counseling or would self-help resources be better?
Let's take a look at each of them.
PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING: is the one people are the most familiar with. You work with a trained professional to determine what your problem is and how to treat it. Your sessions may be one-on-one with the professional; you, the professional, and a group of people with the same type of problem (group therapy); or both.
This type of counseling takes time and money and your insurance may or may not cover all of the expenses. You must be willing to open up and expose your innermost thoughts to your counselor and/or group. You must also be willing to accept his/her decisions on your treatment. After all, they are the trained professional and they will be able to diagnose what is wrong; plus, they have the experience needed to treat you. If your problem needs stronger treatment; drugs or hospitalization; they can refer you to the proper people to make sure you get what you need.
SELF-HELP RESOURCES: first let's take a look at what they are. Self-help resources is a very broad category. It includes all of the following: books, magazines, tapes, videos, CDs, DVDs, on-line sites, self hypnosis, and self-help groups. (Wait a minute! Aren't groups part of professional counseling? Yes, they are. The difference is that self-help groups do not have a professional counselor leading them. Self-help groups use material about the problem they focus on and using that material, the members help and support each other.)
Self-help resources are for the do-it-yourselfer; the person who cannot open up to a professional or anyone else; the person whose insurance will not cover counseling or who cannot afford it; the person who is afraid word will get out that they are seeing a counselor; the person whose problem is not life-threatening; and who does not require medication.
To use self-help resources, you need to: be honest with yourself; be willing to do some digging to determine what your problem is; be willing to admit it, if you get in over your head or your problem worsens; and be willing to try new things.
So which is best for you? Only you can determine that. But, if your problem is relatively minor: insomnia, anger management, death of a loved one, obsessions, anxiety, weight management, gender issues, etc.; you might want to check out self-help resources first. These are all problems that many people experience everyday and there is a lot of information available to help you. The first step is figuring out what the problem is; sometimes that is easy and other times it can take some work to figure out. If you already know your problem, start checking to see what is available for that problem. If you are not sure; here is a site which has tests and quizzes that might help you narrow down your problem: http://www.helpself.com/
Some other sites with self-help resources are:
http://www.nnt.nhs.uk/mh/content.asp?PageName=se lfhelp
http://www.athealth.com/Consumer/shstore/
http: //www.selfhelpmagazine.com/
Don't forget to check in your newspaper, phone directory, or public library for local resources and self-help groups.
If you do not want to try it yourself; if you really need someone to talk to; or you feel your problem is too serious to handle by yourself, seek a professional counselor immediately. Later, you can try combining professional counseling and self-help or you can switch to self-help if you feel you are ready.
The only real disadvantage with professional counseling is; if you are "better" or "cured" your counselor has to find someone else to make money from. A FEW unscrupulous counselors will try to keep you going to them longer than you really need to or will try to slow your treatment so it takes longer. With self-help you can progress at your own pace and take as long or as little time as you need to get your situation under control.
I, personally, have used self-hypnosis to take care of stress and insomnia when I was having serious job and financial problems. I bought a stress relief CD off the Internet and the day it arrived; I got a good nights sleep that same night and learned how to keep the stress from building and building. Once my situation at work stabilized, I no longer needed the help; but, if something happens again I know how to handle it now. I did not need to see a professional or take drugs. The cause of my stress was obvious and temporary. This is exactly the type of problem that self-help resources are made for.
Now, it is time for you to decide where you want to start.