This post about going to therapy while working in sales is an original post made by Shane George, VP of Sales at OnCall Health.
Being in sales can often be very stressful. Pressure is always high and you’re always chasing a moving target. It’s predicated on staying sharp so you can be at your best while on your calls on a day-to-day basis. Add that into a startup environment and you’re now compounding the stress that comes with the lack of structure.
Fortunately, I’ve been really lucky to work in sales at OnCall Health. This is not only because we continue to progress as a company but also because we are contributing to make mental health more accessible across North America. We’ve built a platform that allows healthcare providers to securely meet with their existing patients over video, messaging and interactive forms.
I’ve had the unique experience of speaking with hundreds of mental health providers. This has led to an intimate understanding of the therapy process. As someone who also attends therapy regularly, I wanted to share my thoughts on common misconceptions about therapy. My hope is to encourage you to try it, but to also get the most out of it, if you do.
Misconception #1: “Going to therapy means something’s wrong with you.”
Therapy is one of the most effective ways to help overcome documented mental health disorders, but it isn’t only for people with a clear diagnosis. In fact, attending therapy doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong with you at all. It can be as simple as learning about new perspectives to help you deal with everyday stress and anxiety.
Therapists often have an arsenal of tools and resources to help guide you through any type of challenges you face. Whether they’re related to work, relationships or learning more about your boundaries; therapy is adaptive based on what you need the most help with.
To me, therapy sessions are really similar to a workout at the gym. Instead of it being for your body, it’s for your mental well-being.
Misconception #2: “Going to therapy isn’t needed if you have friends and family to talk to.”
Many of us are lucky to have a support group of friends and family who are willing to hear us out when we want to speak about what bothers us. However, speaking about your problems with friends and family is not comparable to going to therapy for two main reasons.
The first reason is that therapists are professionally trained to understand the underlying causes of your problems. They’re there to properly guide you through your problems using techniques that are proven to work. Although your friends and family have an intimate knowledge of who you are, they often lack professional training in order to provide proper advice in how to tackle complex challenges.
The second reason isn’t as obvious. It has to do with the act of paying your therapist for their services. Therapy can be expensive but the transaction is important. It helps remove the burden you naturally feel when talking to someone about your problems. This burden will always be inherent, especially when speaking with friends and family. On top of that, therapy can often be covered by your work’s benefits plan. If not, some therapists offer a sliding scale payment option to help accommodate those who can’t afford standard rates.
In the end, therapists are often very empathetic people but they are still human. I can only imagine how much mental strength is needed for their role so paying them their desired rate will be best for all parties involved.
Misconception #3: “The therapy process ends at the end of each of your sessions.”
Although therapists are trained professionals, it is not solely up to them to solve your issues for you. In fact, long term progress is often mostly up to the individual attending therapy.
The process revolves around the idea of regularly attending sessions, but reflection between appointments go a long way. Therapists will often provide relevant resources or activities for you to review at the end of each appointments. In order to reinforce what was talked about, it’s important to take the time to review them and try to put them into practice before your next appointment.
There are also modalities of therapy that revolve around the idea of the person knowing the answers to their problems deep down. Therapists are great at guiding you towards those answers but you have to come in with an open mind to accept truths that may be tough to swallow.
I strongly believe that therapy is something that everyone should consider trying, especially if you’re in sales. The benefits can range from helping you feel your best on a daily basis to being life changing.
About the Author
Shane George is the VP Sales at OnCall Health, which is a health tech company based in Toronto. He believes in revenue growth through a data-driven and scalable process and believes in employing concepts from the agile development model into sales. After work, Shane enjoys live music, reading and refreshing /r/nba.
Feel free to reach out at [email protected] if you have any questions.
To learn more about why more than 2 in 5 salespeople struggle with their Mental Health click the link.
