How Do I "do" therapy?

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     There are three salient pieces to my interaction with a client: my way of being with you, my way of understanding you, and my way of intervening to help. (All credit for this paradigm goes to my former professor Dr. Sharon Cheston.)

            My way of being with clients is primarily based on the work of Psychological Theorist, Carl Rogers.  I find the Rogerian concept of unconditional positive regard extremely compatible with my own desire to offer grace, openness, acceptance, and no judgment to every client.  I believe that rapport and trust will develop to the degree to which my client feels fully accepted by me, even when bearing the “unpresentable” aspects of themselves. The first few sessions are very important for listening, restating to be sure I understand, and responding with calm and grace to whatever a client has to share.  This is the foundation for a relationship where meaningful work can be done.

            The second piece of how I counsel centers around the way I understand the client and what they have to share.  In this aspect I am very much Adlerian. Alfred Adler was a psychodynamic theorist who believed strongly that our childhood and experiences throughout life shape us. He paid attention to how people function in their world and relationships. A great deal of the way I understand clients is by connecting the current issues they bring to the counseling room to events, people, and beliefs from their lives. In making these connections, there is often a sense of relief for the client that their emotions or behaviors can be explained.  It also gives us a jumping off point for healing and change for the future as past issues are worked through.

             My way of intervening is also influenced by Adler though I really enjoy being creative in crafting interventions from different schools of thought to meet each particular client’s needs. I use a lot of "CBT" (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy) to help change destructive (or at least upsetting) patterns in thoughts, emotions, and behavior. These techniques are the standard of practice for many mental health concerns. I find them very useful because most people come to therapy because they need to see change in they way they feel, think or behave.  The insights we have in session will often naturally translate into homework, or an application for you that week. I really believe that if what we do together stays in our 50-minutes once a week the healing may be slow! The assignments I give could be as simple as trying to notice a negative thought we identified in session or as mundane as remembering to say "thank you" to your spouse that week or as profound as writing a letter to an abuser to release them from your anger. Homework gives legs to what we discuss and allows you to test in the real world what we talk about in session so we can adjust course as needed and get you the best results.

            Overall, I have a passion for helping people heal and change.  I love being a compassionate ally on people's journeys.  I do this by being open and accepting, understanding them as a whole person on a journey that has shaped them, and providing guidance and insight to help them embrace freedom and truth as it is revealed in our times together.

                                                                                                        ~Corinne Heiliger