TOP 6 REASONS WHY CORPORATE WOMEN AVOID THERAPY
After years of working with professional women, and more specifically women in corporate, I realized that I’m usually their last resort.
Actually, most of the time, I’m told that I was their last resort.
It’s not surprising.
Even with the increasingly amount of conversations being had about mental health, emotional wellness, and trauma-informed care, there’s still a lot of stigma around therapy.
And besides stigma, many people just don’t see the value in it.
Corporate women experience a lot of stress at their jobs and the higher up they are, the more stress they have. It doesn’t always mean that they don’t like their job, (even though many of them don’t) ,but the high demands make it difficult for them to prioritize self-care or to find time for therapeutic support.
Many corporate jobs offer perks that include therapy services but many times, employees don’t want to talk to an EAP therapist because it feels too close for comfort and they worry about their privacy. This leads them to have to reach out to a therapist on their own, which is how many of my clients begin their therapy journey with me.
Over time, I have found that these are some of the top reasons why corporate women avoid therapy or only consider it as a last resort.
If this is you, read on to see if any of these resonate:
You consider therapy to be a waste of time because you’re thinking of old school approaches where you just vent about your feelings and minimal progress happens.
Even though you want to, you struggle with prioritizing yourself and your wellbeing. You are so used to putting your needs before everyone else, that the idea of taking the time for your mental health and wellness seems daunting and pointless to you.
You’re really smart and then some. You are driven, ambitious, extremely dedicated to your professional career, value productivity, and are mostly led by logic. You understand mental health and why other people might go to therapy but you don’t think focusing on your emotions is a productive use of your time.
You’re avoiding doing the work that deep down you know you need to be doing because you fear that it will disrupt your lifestyle. Maybe you’re well aware of some things you could work on in therapy or you are finally piecing together how your overwhelming childhood is still impacting you today and you want to talk to someone about it. You might be scared, nervous about what it will be like to talk about these things, or even how your life may change after you work with a therapist.
You think a luxury vacation will give you a good enough reset. Or a good spa day. Or a rooftop premium brunch with friends. Or something material that will make you feel fabulous again. All of these things can certainly help you feel better, but they probably won’t be long-lasting.
And the absolute most common one is that you don’t have time. Now, although I know you’re busy and that your work and home life demands a lot of your time, what this one really means to me is that you don’t think therapy is a valuable use of your time. I’m almost positive that if your romantic partner or a child of yours was diagnosed with an urgent health issue and needed to see a specialist weekly and needed to be accompanied by you, that you would find the time.·
Do any or all of these resonate to you? Are you struggling with anxiety or with coping with the aftermath of an overwhelming or traumatic experience?
If you’re ready to move past these reasons and start your work with a therapist and want someone who’s skilled and experienced working with professional women, and also trauma-informed, let’s schedule a consultation to see if we’re a good fit for each other.
Dr. Minerva Guerrero is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Westchester, New York. She is the owner of Mind Matters Mental Health Counseling, offering telehealth and in person therapy sessions. She specializes in treating anxiety and trauma in adults. For more information about her, make sure to visit her website www.mindmattersmhc.com or follow her on Instagram: mindmattersmhc.
