Personal Perspective: What's the impact of a therapist's agenda on their clients?

Letting clients face the fallout of their behaviors is key to their growth.

Being strongly grounded in differentiation and developmental theory, I definitely have an agenda for clients . . . but it’s not about what theyI hold the idea that a client’s choices and behaviors are their domain, and not something I have a vote on.

I could honestly assure her neither of those notions was accurate. I had absolutely no agenda for her relationship with eating. If she wanted a different relationship, I would help her develop it. But if she never changed her eating patterns, that was fully her choice and one I would respect. In working with her, I was invested in her developing the ability to"wrestle with herself," to face herself, to develop her own integrity around eating or emotional reactions.

I could sincerely tell Durga I had no idea about whether or not she should leave Sandeep, but I was highly interested in what she thought of herself, and how she felt about staying or going. It took her a long time to trust I wasn’t going to push her into leaving. Along the way, she got clearer and clearer about her own reactions to his behavior. Slowly but surely, she was able to"inhabit" how she truly felt.

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

A Personal Perspective: Seeing the big picture reduces my anxiety.A Personal Perspective: I wasn’t broken or stupid because I couldn’t see what was going on. The flight-or-freeze response was my nervous system’s innate wisdom to keep me from harm.
Source: PsychToday - 🏆 714. / 51 Read more »

A Personal Perspective: What undergoing bullying taught me about my own resilience.A Personal Perspective: Why it's vital to struggle at times, how I've grown from hardship, and why you can too.
Source: PsychToday - 🏆 714. / 51 Read more »

Personal Perspective: Discovering what doesn't come and go.Personal Perspective: "Presence" is not a state that comes and goes, but rather the very basis of every momentary, fleeting perception, and it can never be lost.
Source: PsychToday - 🏆 714. / 51 Read more »

Personal Perspective: You can be symptom-free.A Personal Perspective: You can be symptom-free of schizophrenia while on medication, as am I. Here are my changing reactions over the years when professionals don't agree.
Source: PsychToday - 🏆 714. / 51 Read more »

Personal Perspective: What is the harm of Stoic ideas being made accessible?Personal Perspective: Critics accuse popular books on Stoicism of pandering to a general audience. But what's the harm of the public reading ideas about life and ethics?
Source: PsychToday - 🏆 714. / 51 Read more »

Personal Perspective: Proper sleep is essential for mood stability.Personal Perspective: A healthy sleep cycle eludes many people with bipolar disorder, yet few things are more important for recovery.
Source: PsychToday - 🏆 714. / 51 Read more »