What Matters Most In Psychotherapy?

How are those every day tasks at your desk?

I was asked in a recent professional gathering what matters as a psychotherapist working in a trauma-informed practice in the community. 

It got the grey matter firing 🧠 that made me want to explain preventative mental and emotional health maintenance using talk therapy compared to preventative physical activity. 

Preventative Mental & Emotional Health

For those who work with me, or maybe using this blog to think about working with one another, I align with The British Psychological Society and their Power Threat Meaning Framework, as well as the ethical lens of the BACP & UKCP. Since 2018, I have built an awareness of preventative maintenance in Workplace Wellbeing & The Burnout Surge - which is reshared frequently on my feed, naming exercise and self-care as researched preventative measures. 

While reflecting on the trend, I have found that the Power of Proactive Space aligns well with professional practice for clients. We simply talk about the anxiety in workplaces from home to the office, or look at professional relationships, and practice in the workplace to explore how unspoken stressors in being efficient and productive can compound chronic and severe stress, with the potential to lead to burnout. A 50-minute session with a BACP-registered or UKCP-accredited environment provides a space to untangle everyday knotty feelings before they solidify into clinical depression or chronic stress.

How Do I Use Psychotherapy Sessions To Help Me?

It is a productive space for the most part. Not to vent but rather be active in a collaborative process to say what the inner critic shouts in the silence of the commute, or at your desk. Or perhaps it could be in difficult workplace relationships that need to be unpacked in a safe and confidential environment. For some, it is important to learn what a session could involve.

• Mapping overstimulation - by working through environmental stressors, we can learn how to use coping strategies. 

• Breaking Patterns - identifying automatic thoughts, the tone of the inner critic and learning about your authentic voice will help us learn about you. 

• Building a Psychological toolkit - I am a keen advocate in moving the body, nourishing the body, connecting the mind and body and being out in the countryside as my toolkit. It is a privileged position to help clients build theirs. 

It is a relief to read the research that the UK attitude is changing to proactively reach out via directories like those seen on the BACP & UKCP homepages. For me, it highlights that taking the first step is showing self-awareness and emotional maturity. 

What is the cost of waiting to reach out?

A lot like waiting for the new month to start moving body, waiting to connect with your preventative mental and emotional health maintenance needs, and motivation. I feel there is an accountability to being in the room, online or talking over the telephone. For others, they may have a solid and trustworthy group of social support. It is not a one-size-fits-all.

However, if you do not have a trustworthy space to talk each week, then the cost could be waiting until the right time. From lived experience, there is never a right time to accept; now is the time to take action. 

How Can I Help?

You don't need to be in crisis to deserve a dedicated space for your thoughts. Book an introductory 20-minute conversation for free today to explore how preventative therapy can support your daily life, career, and relationships.