
Talking Therapy in Spain
Sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger that is not emotionally involved than it is to relatives or friends.
During talking therapy, a trained counsellor or therapist listens to you and helps you find your own way out, in a non-judgemental manner.
The therapist will give a space to talk, cry, shout or just think. It’s an opportunity to bounce things off someone else and can help to get a new perspective and see things in a different light.
Usually, you’ll talk one-to-one with the therapist. Sometimes talking treatments are held in groups or couples, such as relationship counselling.
They’ll usually be done face-to-face, but you might be able to have talking therapy over the phone, via email or on Skype.
Although there are lots of different types of talking therapy, they all have a similar aim: to help you feel better.
Some people say that talking therapies don’t make their problems go away, but just being able to express frustration or even despair helps them cope better with them.
Talking therapy for mental health problems
Talking therapies are recommended for lots of things, including:
- depression
- anxiety
- an eating disorder
- a phobia
- an addiction
They’re often used if you have been diagnosed with a serious mental health condition, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
In the case of severe symptoms, talking therapies are commonly used alongside medicines.
Talking therapy after difficult life events
If you’re going through a sad and upsetting time, talking therapies can help you deal with it.
This could be after a relative or friend has died, after finding out you have a serious illness, if you’re struggling with infertility, or if you have lost your job.
Talking therapy and emotion regulation
Often after stressful life events our emotions become dysregulated and we do not have the coping skills or the energy to deal with this. People with extreme emotional dysregulation will often turn to substance abuse or food to alleviate the pain and although this may provide temporary relief, overeating or substance abuse will inevitably make most people will feel bad about themselves. What starts out as functional self-care protecting ourselves from emotional pain soon begins to hijack the motivational and reward neural pathways until through a type of classical conditioning we develop craving which can be extremely difficult to stop, even when we no longer enjoy the food we are eating or the substances we are taking.
If you would like to find out more about binge eating you can read an excellent article on the subject by Dr Glenn Livingstone who has written several book on binge eating and ways to stop.
How to Stop Binge Eating in Three Unusual Steps
Physical illness and talking therapy in Spain
People with long-term health conditions are more vulnerable to depression and talking therapies have been proven to help.
Talking therapies may improve your quality of life if you have:
- diabetes
- multiple sclerosis
- heart disease
- a stroke
- lower back pain(as part of a treatment package that includes exercise)
Talking therapy in Spain for the over-65s
Older people, especially those with depression, are as likely to benefit from talking therapies as everyone else.
Depression in later life, especially over the age of 65, is often dismissed as a normal part of ageing.
But this isn’t the case and talking therapy can improve your enjoyment of life if you’re feeling low.
Take a short test to see if you’re depressed.
Talking therapies may also help people with dementia and give support to the people looking after them.
Therapy and past abuse
If you have been physically or sexually abused, or have experienced discrimination, you may feel able to cope with life better after a course of talking therapy.
Therapy in Spain for relationship problems
Couples therapy can save a relationship that’s in trouble or help you through separation and divorce.
Ideally, a couple should go to counselling together, but if your partner refuses to join you, counselling can help you sort out lots of things on your own.
Find out how to have a healthy divorce
Therapy in Spain for families
Family therapy is talking therapy that involves the whole family. It can be especially helpful for children with depression or a behavioural problem, or whose parents are splitting up.
It can also help families where someone has an eating disorder, mental health condition, or addiction.
Therapy in Spain for anger management
Talking therapy can help people who find it difficult to keep their anger under control.
If you would like to speak to an English-speaking Therapist or Counsellor in Spain, see the ESHA Spain directory listing here.
https://eshaspain.org/directory/categories/english-speaking-counsellors-therapists/
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