Who are you? What is it you’re searching for? Do you at times simply wish you could speak with one person who could just sit and listen to you and help you come to some clarity? A person who might have experience with similar issues and feelings. Someone to reflect back to you your issues so you might see them in a different light and context? This in many ways is the role of a mentor, as well as a therapist. A good therapist can be a reflective surface, one who shines a light for you along your path to your true self. Just as a good mentor can be a calm voice in your head who helps you make the best choices when life gets tough. Neither a mentor nor a therapist makes choices for you. Therapy as mentorship can help to clarify who you are and where you are going. Your therapist/mentor can help you see more clearly what you want for yourself and if the outcomes of your choices might lead to a more authentic you.
Do you feel as if you make choices more for others than for yourself?
Do you feel you need another person’s acceptance for you to be able see what direction your life should take? Therapy can help you to develop a healthy and loving acceptance of yourself so that others’ opinions, while important, will always come second to what is best for a healthy and engaged you. When you are adrift inside the need to please others there can be so few paths open to finding joy and fulfillment. A therapist can help ground you and help you become the agent of change that you desire to be. Therapy can lessen the feelings of shame and guilt welling up from the past that prevent you from moving forward in your journey. 
You may feel there is little hope of learning self-acceptance, but with a mentor’s help you will not be accomplishing this on your own.
Your therapist can help you uncover why you are holding onto what is holding you back. They can show you a new path, a new clearer lifeline to your most authentic self. It needn’t matter if what’s holding you back is career or relationship-based. Most stumbling blocks stem from the work we’ve done overcoming past hurdles that are no longer in our way. We often just can’t tell they are no longer there without sharing our stories with someone who can offer a helping hand and a reflecting surface.
A mentor can be your handhold to reality when times get tough. A mentor can help ground you when the circular thought patterns of difficult times arise.
Think back to when you had a deep honest talk with a friend and suddenly everything became clearer. Your therapist can be that sounding board now when friends can’t. Your therapist won’t offer advice and won’t be disappointed when you at times slip backwards. They know and can reassure you that progress is not a straight line and accept you just where you are at this moment. In this way therapy as mentorship will model for you how you can begin to accept your shortcomings and aid you in acceptance and love for yourself.
With self-acceptance comes the ability and strength to survive the next disappointment.
Big or small, disappointments are around the corner for us all. How you react to them is how you learn to define yourself. Do you react out of fear or avoidance? If you have a clear picture of who you are, one which is grounded in who you authentically want to be then it will be easier to avoid the trap of defining yourself by your disappointments.
Who are you? You have many ways to define that, though at times it may seem you have too few choices. Your therapy as mentorship is there to help you on your journey towards self-discovery. You already exist and your friends, partners, co-workers already see you. Now it is time for you to see your authentic self and time to move into your joy and live your best life.
By Bob Ryan, LMHC, ATR
Ready to Start Therapy as Mentorship in Florida?
Beginning the journey to your best self is easier than most of the things we’re all doing right now! Trauma therapy does not have to wait. You can get the mental health support you need with a skilled therapist in St. Pete or with online therapy in Florida. To begin, just follow these simple steps:
- Contact us to request an appointment
- Meet with one of our experienced therapists.
- Get support & begin your journey toward mental wellness & connection today!
Other Mental Health and Wellness Services at ME-Therapy
At ME-Therapy, we believe in the importance of mental, emotional & physical wellbeing. Our therapists want to help your mind but also want to feed your soul. This means we take a holistic approach to mental health. In order to do this, we offer a wide range of mental health services in our St. Petersburg office and online including therapy for women, therapy for men, trauma therapy, therapy for anxiety, art therapy, and holistic, spiritual therapy. For couples and relationships, we want you to know that our relationship therapists are here for you ALL. In addition to marriage counseling, we provide sex therapy, affair recovery counseling, and poly-friendly kink aware therapy.
