Emotional problems, addictions, and compulsions of all kinds come to inhabit, then mimic and merge with, a person’s core identity. When we defamiliarize, we are moving the client towards a new way of seeing the problem – and therefore a new way of feeling about it. But how do we do this?
Articles on: Psychotherapy Techniques
The therapeutic relationship is vital; rapport and listening skills help our clients no end. But there are plenty more useful psychotherapeutic strategies and techniques. This collection was created to present some ideas and techniques which perhaps you won’t be so familiar with and also presents more familiar strategies in what I hope are new and interesting ways. Here you’ll find such topics as ‘mirror therapy’ and strategies to help the self sabotaging clients and many more. Grab a cup of tea or coffee, relax and find ideas for therapy you can use straight away.
The Therapeutic Power of Journaling for Self-Reflection
Far beyond being a simple record-keeping practice, journaling serves as a gateway to the depths of self-reflection and insight and an aid in the development of emotional intelligence. So if you feel a bit of journaling may help your client, how can you usefully get them started?
How to Use the ‘Meaning Vacuum’ with Your Clients
The art of relaxing with not knowing is, I think, more profound than many people realize. Being able to suspend judgement, not being too quick to label something as ‘bad’ or ‘good’, can help us see what there really is to see. So how might we use this concept with our clients?
How to Positively Reframe Your Clients’ Negative Traits
We all have certain ‘negative’ personality traits. And if we view those traits as irrefutably negative, it can make us feel hopeless. So how might we reframe ‘negative’ traits?
Understanding Borderline Personality Disorder
Diagnosed cases of borderline personality disorder (BPD) seem to be on the rise. While working with a client with BPD may feel difficult, ultimately anything we can do to help such clients gain some emotional stability and regulate their emotions will help. So, what might that involve?
How to Stop Your Client’s Negative Spiral
There is a kind of unhelpful self-confidence in the mind of a negative client, at least as far as their sense of being right about how bad things are or will be is concerned. We need to help such clients develop the capacity for calmer, more hopeful and reasonable thoughts with greater perspective. So what […]
How to Use Psychoeducation With Your Clients
Psychoeducation can be a powerful tool for therapists to help their clients better understand their mental health condition, learn effective strategies for managing their symptoms, and take control of their mental health. So what pointers can be useful when we think about providing our clients with psychoeducation?
How to Help Your Therapy Clients with Their Spiritual Questions
Where did we come from, where are we going, and what is behind it all? Many of us have at some time wrestled with or just wondered about the bigger questions of life. And research suggests that addressing such spiritual concerns may help mental health. So how might we as practitioners aid our clients in […]
What is the Inner Child?
Building a whole ideology around one metaphor can make therapists less flexible and fluid than they otherwise could be. But that’s not to say that some metaphors aren’t widespread in their appeal, even universal. So when might the inner child metaphor be useful, and how can it be used?
Why It’s Important to Help Your Clients Name Their Feelings
“How does that make you feel?” is a clichéd therapy question that sort of sticks in my throat. It makes me feel… yucky. And yet it’s something I need to get over. Because when we face what is inside, recognize and name it, we become stronger and less afraid. By helping our clients recognize and […]
