FAQs
- What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
Making the Commitment to Therapy: In order for therapy to be a successful undertaking for you, you have to be willing to commit yourself to the process. You can expect to have painful sessions. You may have conflicts with your therapist and you will relate to your therapist the same way you relate to others in your life. Things that you find dissatisfying in others are bound to come up in your relationship with your therapist as well. Truthfully, if they don't, you may not be getting everything out of therapy that you should be. In order to work through interpersonal issues, you have to be committed to making your therapy work. This means that you will have to discuss your feelings about therapy with your therapist, communicate dissatisfaction with therapy if it arises, discuss conflicts or hurt feelings with the therapist when you feel the therapist has done something that upset you, etc. This is a different interaction than working with a doctor or other healthcare provider, because therapy is about relating. Therefore, you relate with the therapist as well and in this relationship, your interpersonal issues will come up in therapy. This is important. So, in order for you to get everything out of therapy, you have to make the commitment to the whole process of therapy, including sticking it out even when you don't feel like it or you are upset with your therapist. This is also why it is so important to choose your therapist carefully, because you are committing to the whole process. You are committing yourself to the therapeutic relationship with the goal that making changes in this relationship will positively benefit all of your life relationships in the present and in the future. It is a learning process and working in therapy gives you the chance to practice with someone whose focus is just on you. It is the most unique relationship you will ever have in your life because it is more about you and you alone than it is about you and the therapist together, but at the same time it is also about your relationship with the therapist too. Make sense?