APRIL is Counseling Awareness Month

It’s Counseling Awareness Month in April, and we’re here to promote the importance of counseling and mental health support for women. This year’s theme is #BurnBrightNotOut which advocates for uplifting the value of counseling as a service in your life and recognizing the power of the profession. 

While counseling may still be shrouded in stigma, the reality is that counseling and mental health support can be enormously helpful in creating personal growth and resilience.

We might be biased but we believe that counseling is an invaluable resource for individuals of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. It can be particularly powerful for women who want to find space for themselves in their own lives. Counseling can provide the insight, clarity, and tools that people need to make positive changes in their life and you can start doing that by reading this blog! 

Before you begin, remember that our professionals are always here to help

What it means to be a counselor—and why we think it matters

So what’s a counselor? Officially, Counselors are professionals trained to help people explore their thoughts and emotions in a safe, non-judgmental environment. We support you in gaining greater insight into yourself and your life so you can better understand yourself and your relationships by identifying barriers and triggers, then building support and healthy coping strategies around them.

We are called many names: clinicians, therapists, psychotherapists, social workers, and coaches. Each comes with a unique education and distinction, our experiences will vary slightly, but at our core, every counselor is a helper. We are the steady unraveling of the stigma that surrounds mental health, and we’re here to help you find your footing in an often complicated life.

Every day in our practice, we’re able to see firsthand the positive impact counseling can have on individuals, couples, and families. From teens struggling with self-esteem to adults dealing with depression, counseling can provide the support and guidance they need to make positive changes in their life.

Here’s why you should go to counseling 

It can be hard to find space in our lives geared toward us where we can feel safe and empowered to prioritize our own mental health needs. We believe counseling can be that space. At Luna Joy, we offer a safe and non-judgmental space for women to identify and explore their own thoughts, feelings, and relationships.

Counseling is about so much more than just talking about your feelings (though that’s certainly part of it). It’s also a space to process traumatic experiences, explore relationships, develop healthier communication strategies, and build emotional strength. 

At its core, counseling is about self-empowerment and growth. We believe women need and deserve that support. It’s an awesome opportunity to create a strong foundation for self-care and to foster resilience that empowers you in the face of future struggles. 

But there’s more than that too! 

Women face unique challenges 

Women’s lives look different than men’s both in the workplace and in their personal lives. Women are more likely than men to experience anxiety and depression.

They may also face other issues, such as juggling multiple roles and expectations, financial constraints, parenting pressures, and more. But counseling can help you manage and cope with all of those and so much more.

For women at every life stage, counseling can support you with: 

Hormonal Transitions 

From starting puberty to navigating life after menopause, we’ve got you covered. Hormones can be a complicated part of managing both your physical and mental health. Counseling at Luna Joy can help you address it all through therapy and with the help of our partners Coralai.

Finding Balance

Figuring out where to put your energy can be an exhausting task on its own—and with so many other things on your plate, you may just not have the space to find a better balance on your own.

With the help of a counselor, you can learn how to make time for yourself, prioritize your needs, and create healthy boundaries. This can help you to reduce stress and anxiety, create a sense of peace, and lead a more fulfilling life.

Gaining Clarity

You may feel pretty powerful in your life and things are going well! That’s awesome and we want to help you nurture that. You could choose to go to counseling to gain clarity around sustaining that vibe and getting clarity around goal setting for the future. Whether you’re looking toward the next steps, inevitable transitions, or chasing your dreams, a counselor can help you explore your options and develop a plan for achieving your goals.

Along your journey, it’s important to remember that counseling isn’t always going to be easy. You might falter, or feel weak—but we’d like to assure you that that’s what makes you so incredibly strong. It takes courage and vulnerability to open up to a counselor and talk about what’s going on in your life. 

With the help of a counselor, you can gain a better understanding of yourself and develop the skills and strategies you need to lead a healthier, happier life. If you’re ready to #BurnBrightNotOut in your own life, we’re ready too. We followed our dreams by building careers as counselors and we’re so glad we did. 

This Counseling Awareness Month, join me in recognizing the importance of counseling and mental health support for women. Let’s encourage one another to take the first steps and seek help if needed. Together, we can create a stronger foundation for self-care and resilience that will enable us to thrive in the future.