Executive counseling involves helping those who are leaders in their workplace manage stress, balance their work and personal lives, and more effectively communicate with their coworkers and other people. Like most other types of therapists, an executive therapist strives to be an objective third party and helps give people the tools they need to solve problems in their lives. Here are some common reasons to undergo executive counseling.
Reasons why people attend executive counseling
Just as there are many reasons why people go to traditional therapy, there are myriad reasons why a CEO or other type of business leader might choose to undergo executive counseling.
To learn better communication skills
Most people in high-level positions at a company talk to many people throughout the day, from customers to employees to other senior managers. Therapists can give people skills for more effective communication, as well as skills to resolve difficulties in communication quickly and thoroughly. Learning better communication skills can lead to greater success at work and more satisfying personal relationships.
To help relieve stress
People in positions of power deal with large amounts of stress on a daily basis, and dealing with that can take a toll if not appropriately managed. In executive counseling, people learn various ways to cope with and manage stress. Some things that people can do to relieve stress include:
- Engaging in regular physical activities, such as walking, yoga, tennis, and more
- Meditating, either in silence or through a guided video or audio recording
- Taking time out to practice deep breathing, which can be done anywhere
- Socializing and connecting with friends and family members
- Getting enough good quality sleep each night, which usually ranges from seven to nine hours for adults
Practicing various ways to manage stress allows people to be more present in the moment and less likely to get upset by minor daily occurrences. In addition to teaching coping mechanisms, therapy is also helpful for stress relief because it gives people someone to talk to regularly about whatever is on their minds.
To deal with unhelpful thinking patterns
Everyone has thoughts from time to time that make them uncomfortable or inhibit them from doing what they would like to do. Executive counseling, just like the many other types of counseling available, can help people identify and break these unhelpful thought patterns. One of the more common ways therapists approach this is through cognitive behavioral therapy. CBT is the practice of challenging the negative thought patterns that people have and introducing other, more helpful thoughts to take their place. Some of these negative thought patterns, or thinking errors, include overgeneralization, jumping to conclusions, all-or-nothing thinking, and magnification.
Conclusion
Everyone can benefit from having someone to talk to about their worries and stressors, including those in leadership positions. Consider seeing an executive therapist if you feel that counseling could help you.
If you are an executive who could benefit from help dealing with stress, unhelpful thinking patterns, or poor communication skills, see if executive counseling is available near you.