- ‘Therapists are sorted people’
There are reasons why accredited psychotherapy trainings require therapists to be in therapy themselves. No amount of theoretical knowledge or skill can heal experience. When we see clients we have to be aware of our own stories, our strengths and weaknesses, what could trigger us in relationships in order to distinguish what is our own and what is the client’s. This is how we can best be of service.
- ‘Therapy is about blaming your parents or your early experiences’
What brings you into treatment is current and it is important to understand your present in the context of your life, therefore therapy usually entails exploring childhood experiences and significant events that have impacted your life. However the point of looking backwards is to better understand your present to make positive changes for the future.
- ‘Therapy is for people who have crazy issues’
There is a spectrum of reasons for going to therapy. From wanting someone to talk to, to needing support with serious mental health issues. Therapy considered from the medical model aims at treating illness and viewed from the wellness model aims at promoting health. People go to therapy to cope with disorders, relationships, stress, grief, to understand who they are and learn to live life more fully.
Pretty much everyone could benefit from therapy.
- ‘Therapy is like talking to a friend’
Friends and family are invaluable support, they can give love and support and therapy can sometimes feel like talking to a friend. Knowing your friend or family member so well means that you are more likely to censor yourself to avoid disrupting the relationship. Those who have engaged in therapy know that it is very different. Each session is devoted to you and the therapist is a trained professional who has skills to make assessments and to facilitate change in cognitive, emotional, behavioural and relational areas.
- ‘Therapy is brainwashing’
Every therapist has his/hers own unique philosophy and way of working however, a good clinician helps you connect with your own thinking and feeling, encourages you to use your own voice. There is a time in therapy when the therapist forms an understanding of the workings of the client’s mind in order to identify patterns and make observations. The aim of the good therapist is not to convert but to create a safe space for the client to be more trusting and authentic.