Loneliness counseling employs a multifaceted approach, utilizing Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to reframe your negative thought patterns, enhance communication, and improve social skills. It also incorporates interpersonal therapy to address relationship patterns, and mindfulness practices to manage feelings of loneliness and self-criticism. Goal-setting is also encouraged to help you actively pursue social connections and community engagement. Through these techniques, loneliness therapy empowers individuals to overcome isolation, develop meaningful relationships, and enhance their overall emotional well-being.
Loneliness counseling can take different amounts of time. It depends on how lonely a person is and how they're doing in counseling. Normally, it involves many sessions that last from a few weeks to a few months. The exact number of sessions and how long it takes are determined with the loneliness counselor's input.
4 Tips to Help You Deal with Social Isolation and Loneliness
There are two basic types of loneliness: acute loneliness that results from a specific event like losing a loved one or moving to a new city. The second type is chronic loneliness, which happens even when you have fulfilling relationships. No matter which one you’re experiencing, there is help out there for you.
1. Make a plan for action
The first step is to determine what you can do about it. Volunteering or finding a new hobby are good options but the right choice for you will vary based on your current lifestyle and where you live. Regardless, coming up with a plan is the first step toward a more fulfilling life.
2. Take action
If you’re feeling lonely and you want to change that, then you’ll need to do something different. This doesn’t mean you have to burst out of your shell one day. You can take baby steps like making small talk with a server while having lunch. Anything you can do to move forward is a good move.
3. Seek companionship in a pet
There’s a lot of evidence that pets can help protect us against loneliness. This doesn’t mean you have to run out and buy a dog tonight. However, you can volunteer at an animal shelter, walk a friend’s pet, or simply get to know the neighbor’s dog. The purpose is in the companionship – not how you get it.
4. Seek help from the professionals
There are some steps you can take on your own but if you truly feel you’re at a loss, you’re afraid to try any of these suggestions, or you’ve tried them and they haven’t worked, then counseling can be a great option for you. Your counselor will learn more about your unique needs and what obstacles stand in the way of you and the life you’d like to live.
At Thriveworks in Johnson City, we can help you come up with realistic expectations and concrete steps to take to get there. We are here to help you move past your loneliness into a fulfilling life.
