1) Thinking about how you think about things. Most of the time, the way we think and feel about things in our lives is automatic. Therapy will identify and often times challenge assumptions, automatic thoughts and feelings, patterns of behaving, preconceived notions, automatic reactions, schemas, and typical ways of interacting with others. The process of identifying these patterns can be jarring at times -- After all, we human beings like to stick to what we know. In a sense, therapy might take us out of our usual assumptions and help us begin to wonder about where those assumptions come from. Therapy may also address whether those assumptions or automatic behaviors work or don't work for us. Therapy often asks, "Why?" and involves some kind of insight about oneself.
2) Getting in touch with emotions. Effective therapy will often involve being able to freely discuss and express feelings. Often times, people have difficulty knowing what they're really feeling. Sometimes, the mind has ways of preventing us from knowing what we're really feeling. In addition, people often engage in an array of different behaviors, such as drinking, eating, gambling, shopping, procrastinating, etc. to avoid emotions. In a variety of different ways, therapy encourages the discussion and expression of previously unexpressed emotions.
3) The relationship between the patient and the therapist. It may sound simple, but a relationship built on trust, understanding, safety, authenticity, and consistency, can be quite healing in and of itself. The therapeutic relationship is different than the relationship between friends or family in that the focus will almost always be on you, the patient. The payment of a fee actually frees the therapist from demanding anything else of you. The therapist is free to focus on your happiness and life satisfaction with no hidden agenda or expectation that you reciprocate.
Thanks for reading,
Ryan Janis, Psy.D.
Beverly Hills Psychologist
http://www.drryanjanis.com/
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