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It is important that the client experience his or her therapist as safe, reliable and supportive in this challenging and vulnerable process. The therapy relationship, or alliance, is the context for healing and growth toward the client’s goals
What is Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy helps people with problems in their emotions, thoughts or behaviors such as depression, complicated grief, anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive compulsions, eating disorders, poor coping with stress, sleep problems, addictions, conflicted and frustrating relationships, or a general dissatisfaction with life. It can not only help resolve problems of living but also support personal growth. Psychotherapy was originally called the talking cure, in contrast to psychiatry which treats with medications. Therapy is used with or instead of medication to address psychological problems. The therapy client needs to be actively involved in therapy for it to be beneficial. It is the client’s personal involvement that provides opportunities for personal healing and growth
Therapy requires the committed participation of both client and therapist. The therapist offers her skills and experience to identify the nature and patterns of human emotions, thoughts and behaviors - how they can work well and how they can become dysfunctional. She seeks to teach by various means the patterns of living which are more likely to promote healing and growth. Therapy alternates between acceptance and change. Acceptance challenges the client to explore emotions, thoughts and intentions without denying or judging them. Change challenges the client to replace familiar but destructive patterns with healthier ones
It is important that the client experiences his or her therapist as safe, reliable and supportive in this challenging and vulnerable process. The therapy relationship, or alliance, is the supportive ground for healing and growth, supporting therapy's work toward the client’s goals
The therapist's central tool is a kind of listening that is safe and effective. It is safe because the therapist respects and supports her client's boundaries and goals. It is effective because the therapist teaches alternative approaches and skills that can help her client achieve personal goals. Listening is a skill I seek to model and teach, so my clients can learn to better listen and respond to themselves
Therapy is a personal process that ideally custom fits each client’s present needs and situations. There is variability in the recommended length of therapy and frequency of sessions. In general, therapy is shorter when the presenting problems are circumscribed and recent. When problems affect many areas of life and are chronic, therapy tends to be longer and more intensive