We are living in very difficult economic times.  A friend of mine, who is in the insurance industry, recently told me that there is so much bad news out there that people are really having a hard time living.  He suggested that many of the people he knows are overwhelmed by fear and loss from the crisis we are experiencing and  are suffering a great deal both emotionally and psychologically. 

This got me thinking about how psychotherapy can be helpful in times like this.  I can't help you with your investments, find you a job if you have lost one, help you make your mortgage payment, pay for your children's education or supplement your retirement that may have taken a beating.  But what I can offer is a safe place for you to come 
where you can express your genuine feelings about what you are going through.  The combination of fear and loss  makes the situation we are in particularly difficult. The best predictor of how someone will handle this type of experience is to look at how they have handled similar experiences in the past. Therefore, if you have been able to face losses and fears in the past with a combination of honesty, flexibility, and optimism, then in all likelihood you will be able to handle the present crisis we are facing. If however you have never been able to grieve and mourn the losses of your life, if you have not  been able to directly face change in your life, you may find psychotherapy a useful tool in learning how to cope in healthier and more productive ways. Psychotherapy allows you to face your very real fears openly in these trying times, learn to accept the situation we are in by processing the emotions you are experiencing, and begin to prepare for the future in a realistic and hopeful way.