The Importance of Companionship

By David Trautmann, LCSW

We as human beings are the most social of animals, depending on each other for everything we do, making the companionship of family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and loved ones extremely important. But in this increasingly disconnected society, with increasing rates of divorce, family breakdown and loss of extended family and community, friendships have become increasingly rare, yet more important than ever, as a source of companionship and emotional support. This is even more so with the social isolation imposed by the pandemic restrictions now entering into a second year worldwide.

The sharing of experience, thoughts, ideas, enthusiasms, interests, concerns, values and perceptions – the validation, mentoring, encouragement, caring and perspective friends or even a single good friend can provide can be invaluable, life-changing, and even life-saving in helping us navigate life. Yet increasingly, it can be difficult finding and establishing friends and friendship or even knowing how to make friends – largely because the increasing breakdown, materialism, and divisions of society don’t help us to learn how to do this or provide us with many people who do. So friendships tend to be more cliquish, ego-centric, competitive, exploitive, and transient instead of the caring, other-centered, enduring, and supportive relationships true friendships should be. This is partly why emotional support animals are such an important treatment option, as they offer unconditonal love and comfort.

Because one of the functions of counseling and psychotherapy is to be as a companion with the patient through their life struggles, this service fills an important gap for many, and can be an invaluable asset that can not only help a person, couple or family through a crisis, but also to help people learn to develop more meaningful relationships and be better friends with others. For example, knowing how to help a teen with social anxiety can make a significant difference in their well-being. This is because of the compassion, insight, empathy and understanding and communication skills a trained and experienced professional brings to the treatment encounter and shares with the patient. And this is why increasingly today, people of all ages and walks of life are turning to therapy professionals and benefitting from their consultation and counsel, as it can be hugely important in reducing loneliness, isolation, and accompanying feelings of anxiety and despair, and in helping us to feel more comfortable, connect more satisfactorily, and feel much closer with loved ones and significant others in our lives.

Treatment professionals would like to invite you to partake of these benefits by letting us be a companion and assistance to you in your unique struggles, accompanying you through crucial moments in your life’s journey – confident you will be the happier and more successful as a result.