Sometimes Daily

Should I See a Spiritual Healer or a Therapist?

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When faced with life changes, stress, or negative feelings, you may need help processing what is happening, making decisions, or strengthening healthy coping skills. Unfortunately, many people are not given the mental and emotional tools to handle stress and get through difficult situations.

There are many things you can do to gain skills, get support, and make decision-making easier. The method you choose will be based on your personal beliefs, thought processes, and comfort level. For example, both therapy and spiritual healing can provide support, proceed at your own pace, create positive change, and improve your overall quality of life. Some people may benefit from both spiritual healing and therapy.

However, some people are resistant to therapy or do not have a spiritual foundation for spiritual healing. While trying something outside your comfort zone or belief system can be beneficial, resistance to a process can also make it ineffective. For example, if you go into therapy thinking it is a waste of time and money and it isn’t going to help, then chances are you are not going to get much out of it because you already decided it wouldn’t work.

Here are a few things to consider when choosing between therapy or spiritual healing.

Therapy

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There are many different kinds of therapy, so you need to look into your options before deciding. Additionally, therapists and counselors may specialize in specific areas and types of treatment, so you need to research who you will be before setting the appointment. For example, a counselor may have taken behavior analysis classes or an applied behavior analysis certificate from the behavior analyst certification board.

Behavior analysis is one of many options within therapy that may be the best possible thing for you personally. Behavior analysts help you look at your behavior and the motivations that are driving your behavior. When doing that, you can change the way you make decisions and make authentic movements towards your true self by aligning your actions with your thoughts and beliefs. For example, many people suffer from self-sabotage, but they also don’t know how to stop doing it or may even be unaware that they are doing it. Behavior analysts can help you example the root of the behavior because you can’t change something until you recognize it.

Aside from behavior analysis, there is what many refer to as talk therapy, which is the process of verbalizing your problems, thoughts, and feelings to someone who is not emotional invested in your life. While talking to family and friends can be helpful, you may not be free to tell them everything. Talking to a counselor with who you are not in any relationship outside of counseling allows you to be completely open and honest.

Spiritual Healer

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The term spiritual healer can be used to describe many different types of healing and people. For example, Reikiyoga, meditation, prayer, and contemplation are all considered forms of spiritual healing. A spiritual healer is a person trained to help people with these forms of healing. The training or education that goes into becoming a spiritual healer will depend on the practice, as everything is different.

For example, Julie Ann Otis is an intuitive healer and Somatic Coach. She has a decade of experience and offers one-on-one coaching, workshops, clinics, classes and is helping people adjust to the post-pandemic world. Otis can help address problem behavior, professional goals, and the growing need for radical sufficiency. She runs a private practice and offers a sliding scale for fees, so her services can be open to anyone—her website, julieannotis.com, shares more about her, her experiences, and her services.