4.Knowing why you are going to therapy

4. Knowing why you are going to therapy

Ok, amazing, so we have talked about 1. How to Find a Therapist: 1. Know if you want in-person or online, 2. Trust your gut, 3. Make sure you are seeing someone legit. Now we are talking about 4. Being very clear with your scope of work/knowing why you are going to therapy.  

This is really important because the layman's understanding of therapy is that you go in to vent and complain about everything that's wrong with your life, and you walk out feeling better.  

But in actuality, you can do that to a house plant or to a friend. Too often therapists may not stop their clients from venting unproductively because they are afraid of injuring their clients' fragile sense of self or the therapy alliance cannot be strong enough to endure this.  

Therapy should be, if you find a therapist that is not burnt out or didn't get into it for the wrong reasons, or has a good understanding of what they are doing - is a good blend of - it doesn't really matter what we look at, we are seeing how you are processing things, what your blocks are to processing, and your past history of what you are bringing to get a comprehensive holistic understanding of your functioning, then superimposing it to your goals and values and seeing where the discrepancies are.  

A big assumption of therapy all across the board - CBT, ACT, EMDR, what have you - is that we believe and see that awareness becomes the biggest antidote and motivator for lasting change.  

Ok, so fast forward, let's say not to get stuck into nitpicking the details and getting into an unnecessary debate about poking holes in the theory to sound smart or be right, we just all agree that awareness is necessary for active change to happen. Now what - how does this apply to knowing exactly why you are going into therapy,

Well, it just saves us time and lets us be realistic in what you want to accomplish in therapy, so say you have 5 therapy sessions a year that are covered by insurance, and we don't want you to suffer and put your money where you should be buying groceries instead of therapy.  

Well, it will help us that your concerns are, say, minimizing panic attacks and anxiety attacks so we can locate your symptoms to when they started, when most likely sleep disturbances also started, when stressor X happened to desensitize you from that stressor, and use the framework of desensitization of trauma to stressor so we can reassess and help you sleep better. Hopefully that makes sense.

In other words, we say, ok, client has complaint A, we located X as the stressor, expose them to talk about and reprocess - create different neuropath ways - a fancy word for saying, a way to feel and think differently - and we find when we do this work, the client reports they sleep better.  

To say it more simply, we build a hypothesis - a theory that says we think we have reasonable belief to believe that clients' panic attacks and anxiety attacks are caused by a past stressor; we will process them through a trauma framework so they can sleep better.  

So, to be very clear, they state clearly they want to deal with their panic attacks. We focus on that. Through our work we find the client is stressed out and can't sleep because of this issue that happened; we'll help them sort out the issue and see if they sleep better.  

Therapy really is about what we call externalizing and reprocessing. This means that we can process you and help externalize—bring stuff out of your body—to, in the end, help the functioning be better.  

Keeping in mind however we as therapists like to keep the environment of therapy and your sessions expectation free and unstructured so you can arrive as you are and really talk about anything you feel like.  

Summary  

🌷Hopefully this brings insight and emphasizes the importance of clarity and understanding of why you are going to therapy and clears up more mystery in the therapeutic process.

🐾I hope I effectively brought attention to a Clear Scope of Work that is crucial. It is important for clients to have a clear understanding of what they want to achieve in therapy. This clarity helps both the therapist and the client stay focused on specific goals and outcomes, making the therapeutic journey more effective.

🌻I hope I encouraged you to, with or without therapy, seek Awareness as a Catalyst for Change. Awareness is a key motivator for change. This aligns with many therapeutic modalities.  

🦋I also want to encourage you to understand yourself. I gave an example of what may trigger anxiety or panic attacks and gave this example to create a foundation and premise for effective therapy intervention you should expect in therapy.  

🌈 Clients should be encouraged to explore their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a safe environment to enhance this awareness in or out of therapy.

🍃I hope this also encourages you to create a Holistic Understanding of yourself. With or without therapy, healing begins with the approach of looking at a person’s past, how they process experiences, and how these factors affect their current functioning, providing a comprehensive view.  

🌺This allows for the identification of discrepancies between their values and their current state, fostering deeper insights and more tailored interventions.

🌼I hope I brought attention to the Practicality of Therapy: Highlighting the importance of being realistic about what can be accomplished in a limited number of sessions is a pragmatic approach. Clients need to prioritize their concerns and focus on manageable goals to ensure that their time and resources are used effectively.

💫I hope to prepare clients also to use the Framework for Processing Trauma: how to identify stressors and process them through a trauma-informed lens I hope is a valuable takeaway.  

We established a hypothesis about the relationship between past experiences and current symptoms. Therapists can guide clients toward understanding and alleviating their anxiety or panic attacks.

🐢I hope I brought attention to Outcome Measurement: The idea of measuring outcomes, such as improved sleep after processing a stressor, helps clients see the tangible benefits of therapy. It’s essential for them to recognize progress, reinforcing their commitment to the therapeutic process.

🌹I hope this was an effective and efficient approach emphasizing the significance of clarity, awareness, and entering a structured framework in therapy.  

🌞By ensuring you understand your goals and the therapeutic process, you can engage more meaningfully and work towards effective change.  

💖I hope this provided a clear path and insights, perspective on the nature of therapy, particularly emphasizing the importance of awareness and understanding in the therapeutic process.  

Some other key points I hope you will take away:  

🌿Differentiating between venting to a friend and engaging in therapy. This distinction will help set realistic expectations for clients regarding what they can achieve in therapy. The comparison of therapy to venting to a friend or houseplant is a strong analogy that effectively illustrates the difference between casual support and professional therapy. It might be beneficial to expand on this idea later when we get a chance, perhaps by including examples of more productive therapeutic conversations.

🌾Focus on Awareness: The emphasis on awareness as a key element for change is usually a spot-on point for most clients' takeaways and benefits from therapy. It highlights the role of self-reflection and understanding in personal growth, making it easier for clients to grasp the value of therapy. Awareness as a Theme is vital for change, and I hope this was well articulated. Reinforcing this concept I hope helps drive home its importance in the therapeutic process.

🌸Practical Examples: our use of practical examples, like panic attacks linked to sleep disturbances, illustrates how therapy can address specific concerns. This approach I hope makes the concept of therapy more relatable and understandable for clients.

🍂Framework for Change: Introducing the idea of creating a hypothesis or theory in therapy I hope adds depth to understanding how we integrate science, trial and error with art, intuition, and empathy, compassion. I hope this shows therapy is not just about feeling better but about understanding underlying issues and finding strategies for improvement.

🍓Encouraging Realism: I want to be clear on the scope of work and understanding the goals of therapy help clients approach their sessions with a more realistic mindset. This could enhance their engagement and satisfaction with the process.

🍋I hope to also emphasize Collaboration: Therapy is about creating a conversational tone to oneself, using the therapist as a model to set the tone client to client, creating an inviting atmosphere, which is essential for clients to feel comfortable discussing their issues. You take this to the outer world, and hopefully apply this indefinitely.

🦚I hope this effectively communicates the complexities of therapy while ensuring clients understand its value and the active role they play in the process.

🍉Neuropath ways is really about activating your front brain rather than your hindbrain. The farther back we go in the brain, we are hitting spots that trigger fear and memory and protection from bad things that happen. The more we go in the front, we are activating things like curiosity, values, forgiveness, empathy, compassion, resilience.

🌱Encouragement of Open Dialogue - therapy environment expectation is free and unstructured is important. It encourages clients to feel safe and authentic in their sessions, which is essential for effective therapy.

🌲Concept of Externalizing: The term "externalizing" captures the essence of bringing internal struggles into the open, which is crucial for healing. I hope this concept is clear and relatable, making it easier for clients to understand the process.

🍀 Importance of Processing: By emphasizing the processing aspect highlights that therapy isn't just about talking but involves a deeper exploration of feelings and experiences. I hope this adds depth to the understanding of therapy's role. It might be helpful at a later point to briefly explain how externalizing and processing occur in therapy, providing clients with a clearer idea of what to expect during sessions, when I get a chance, thanks for your patience on this.  

🌏 Focus on Functioning: The goal of improving functioning ties back to the practical benefits of therapy, reminding clients that the ultimate aim is to enhance their overall well-being.

-The summary effectively highlights:

- the importance of clarity in therapy, which is crucial for both clients and therapists.

- the necessity of a clear scope of work, ensuring that clients have realistic expectations and goals.

- emphasis on awareness as a catalyst for change is significant; it aligns well with many therapeutic approaches.

- encourages clients to explore their triggers and understand themselves can lead to deeper insights and more effective interventions.

- underlines the concept of a holistic understanding reinforces the importance of looking at a client's past to inform their present.

- highlights the practicality of therapy and the need to prioritize concerns can help clients use their resources wisely.

- uses the framework for processing trauma is well articulated, making the therapeutic process more tangible for clients.

- adds outcome measurement is valuable, as it helps clients recognize their progress and reinforces their commitment.

- provides a comprehensive view of the therapeutic process while emphasizing client involvement and the active role they play in their own healing journey.

Lee Park, RCT-C, MA BHons
www.canadaonlinetherapy.com

#howtofindagoodfamilytherapist #howtofindagoodtherapistfordepression #howtofindatherapistfornarcissism #howtogetpsychotherapy #howtofindagoodpsychotherapist #howtofindarelationshipcounselor #howdoyoufindagoodpsychologisttherapist #howtofindateletherapist #howtofindafamilycounselor #howtogetdbttherapy #howtofindanemdrtherapist #howtofindthebestcounselorforme