Why should I seek help in psychotherapy?

Sometimes you would hear me saying that I’d rather opt for the more difficult one of the ways ahead if I am to choose between two. Well, that’s not really true. I would do it only if there is a promise that I could get something out of that unnecessary hassle. A case in point would be my elementary class which I decided to keep when I was about to hand over two of my classes to Andrew, a dear colleague of mine, even though I had struggled with them tremendously. I am deeply convinced that I can learn a lot from handling this seemingly uninterested and uninspiring class. That’s a challenge which I relish.

Occasionally my family would urge me not to put too much strain on myself and to beware my limits. Maybe they do not realize the vast power I’m getting to wield. Power to handle more and more, power to take up a challenge previously unthinkable and accomplish the goals it imposes. Power to change things for better. Power to surrender bits and pieces of myself once they turn out hindering my spiritual growth and accept the gifts I’m being offered along the way to replace them.

Having myself gone through psychotherapy I can easily relate to M. Scott Peck’s view (gosh, again?): Psychotherapy is not about happiness; it is about power. If you go the whole route here, I cannot guarantee you that you will leave one jot happier. What I can guarantee you is that you will leave more competent. But there is a vacuum of competence in the world, and so as soon as people become more competent, God or life will give them bigger things to do.