Helping yourself

Therapy is a powerful tool for healing and personal growth, but self-help practices play a critical role throughout the therapeutic journey—before, during, and after. Self-help involves the ongoing use of tools, habits, and strategies that individuals apply on their own to manage emotions, build insight, and support resilience. When integrated with therapy, it strengthens outcomes and fosters long-term change. Hover over the page name in the main menu to see our collection of self-help tools including emotion regulation and self-care strategies, and applications. 

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Below is an explanation of why self-help matters at each phase, with a focus on emotion regulation strategies—cognitive, emotional, and behavioral.

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1. Before Therapy: Building Readiness and Emotional Stability

Why It Matters:

• Many people enter therapy in a state of emotional distress, uncertainty, or ambivalence.

• Self-help can prepare individuals by increasing self-awareness, emotional control, and openness to change.

• It lays the foundation for productive therapeutic work.

Key Emotion Regulation Strategies:

• Cognitive strategies:

  • Self-reflection and journalling: Help identify recurring thought patterns and emotional triggers.

  • Cognitive re-framing: Practicing ways to see challenges from different perspectives (e.g., “This is hard” → “This is hard, and I can learn from it”).

• Emotional strategies:

  • Mindfulness or grounding exercises to tolerate distress and increase present-moment awareness.

  • Emotion labeling: Naming feelings accurately helps reduce their intensity and prepares people to talk about them in therapy.

• Behavioral strategies:

  • Healthy routines (sleep, exercise, nutrition) create emotional stability.

  • Goal-setting: Even small, self-directed goals increase self-efficacy before therapy begins.

Self-help before therapy builds emotional “muscle” so that therapy can go deeper and be more effective.

 

2. During Therapy: Reinforcing and Integrating Therapeutic Work

Why It Matters:

• Therapy sessions are limited in time—what happens between sessions matters just as much.

• Self-help empowers the client to practice and apply strategies outside of the clinical setting.

• It increases engagement and accelerates change.

Key Emotion Regulation Strategies:

• Cognitive strategies:

  • Thought tracking and challenging (e.g., through CBT worksheets) reinforces in-session insights.

  • Self-compassion exercises reduce internal criticism and support therapeutic vulnerability.

• Emotional strategies:

  • Acceptance-based practices help clients tolerate uncomfortable emotions arising during therapy (e.g., shame, sadness, anxiety).

  • Visualization or guided imagery can be used to safely explore or soothe emotions between sessions.

• Behavioral strategies:

  • Behavioral activation (e.g., scheduling pleasurable or meaningful activities) supports mood and motivation.

  • Exposure practice for anxiety or trauma builds resilience when done consistently between sessions.

Self-help during therapy reinforces emotional regulation skills, helping people make progress more consistently and independently.

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3. After Therapy: Maintaining Gains and Preventing Relapse

Why It Matters:

• Therapy eventually ends, but challenges in life continue.

• Self-help provides the tools to maintain progress, navigate future stressors, and prevent regression.

• It sustains emotional regulation skills as a lifelong resource.

Key Emotion Regulation Strategies:

• Cognitive strategies:

  • Continued use of self-monitoring tools (e.g., thought logs, values check-ins) helps maintain self-awareness and prevent old thought patterns from returning.

  • Gratitude and reflection help re-frame daily life positively and protect against rumination.

• Emotional strategies:

  • Mindfulness meditation, breathing, and emotion-tracking help manage post-therapy stressors.

  • Ongoing acceptance and distress tolerance skills help cope with uncertainty or loss without falling back into avoidance.

• Behavioral strategies:

  • Routine-building (e.g., exercise, sleep, social engagement) stabilizes mood and motivation.

  • Volunteering, creativity, or learning helps people stay engaged in meaningful activity, reinforcing well-being.

Self-help after therapy ensures emotional regulation becomes a long-term skill, not just a temporary intervention.

 

In Summary: The Role of Self-Help Across the Therapy Timeline:

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Phase         Why It’s Important                                       Example Emotion Regulation Strategies

Before        Builds readiness for treatment                     Journalling, mindfulness, re-framing

During        Reinforces progress and skills                      Thought tracking, behavioral activation, exposure

After           Maintains gains and resilience                     Self-monitoring, gratitude, healthy routines

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