Although what takes place in session can be difficult, the work, your future, your happiness, and YOU are worth it. Our ultimate goal from the very first time we meet clients is to get them through treatment. Not to make lifetime clients out of those who seek out counseling, but rather to get the person to the point where he/she can thrive independently.
Your first task is to get rid of the therapist caricature most people have in their minds. You know what I’m talking about, the one with the old man with circular glasses who asks the patient to lay down on the couch and tell him their deepest secrets? Yeah, that one. Get rid of that. Replace it with this:
- I do not dream analyze, I DO sympathize.
- I do not chide, I DO help guide.
- I do not medicate, I DO educate.
- I do not predict, I DO help resolve conflict.
- I do not criticize, I DO help strategize.
- I do not cast doubt, I DO help others speak out.
- I do not cause friction, I DO listen.
- I do not thwart, I DO support.