FINDING THE RIGHT THERAPIST

Once you select your provider, it is important to determine what you what style you are interest in. Many clinicians can practice multiple modalities as we can help with so many different challenges. Knowing what you want to experience can help you assure that you and your therapist are on the same page. Imagine your emotional world as an ocean, and Grotto as a sheltered cove where you can gradually face and heal your emotions before continuing your journey. Therapy encompasses three primary aspects, which we will explore:

In the metaphorical ocean of your emotional world, the quality of waves matters. Ideally, waves are gentle, gradually increasing when an extra push is needed. However, when waves become too large or unpredictable, life becomes challenging. Therapy can enhance your ability to navigate stormy seas or explore alternative paths to avoid them. For this approach, Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) are generally the preferred methods of working on coping skills and managing big emotions. This will resilience during calmer times to prepare for future challenges.

Now, let’s shift our focus to the currents within your emotional ocean, representing your internal dialogue. Just like ocean currents, the way we talk to ourselves about the world holds significant power, yet often goes unnoticed. Trauma, stress, substance abuse, neurochemical imbalances, or competing life demands can pull us in unhelpful directions. Our brains are wired to prioritize the “danger” voice for survival, often adopting critical voices encountered in our past. Unconsciously, we repeat these old voices without realizing it. Through therapy, we slow down, observe these currents, and gain a deeper understanding of our experiences.

The second purpose of therapy is to bring clarity to thought patterns, behaviors, relationships, and their origins. By developing awareness, we can actively choose how we want to move forward, free from the constraints of past conditioning. For this approach, Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and, Prolonged Exposure and Desensitization Therapy. EMDR is an emerging field of trauma care which can often enhance the experience of each. The right therapist has access to a set of scientifically grounded skills proven to help with a specific topic.

In-person therapy can lend to the feeling of connectedness in a post-pandemic isolation. On the other side, with virtual sessions, you can access a wider variety of experts in the style you prefer. Also, virtual can be particularly helpful if you are traveling or working abroad, have difficulty getting out of the house for whatever the reason, or if you are in need of immediate access to therapy to deal with a crisis. In these instances, it can be quite nice to have someone who can talk to you in your closet in a hotel room before a work meeting.

All of these therapy forms can work together to help; they approach different aspects of the problem. Family and couples therapy focus mainly on the well-being of the unit which, of course, requires all members be healthy. As such, there is a greater amount of time spent on helping the social unit function more effectively than the individual experiences in it. if there is a disproportionate amount of personal stuff that comes up in the couples or family session, we know there is a need for individual work. In individual therapy, personal sense of self, stressors, historic traumas, and person specific coping skills and processing happen.

Group therapy can be a great addition to either of these. Group therapy is a place to brainstorm and learn about how to cope with something by listening to how other people are coping of course facilitated by the therapist. Groups can be a powerful place to learn new skills at an affordable rate. Things that we do not need a lot of personal feedback on, like a coping skills class. Groups can also provide an immediate support group during a time when socializing has been challenging. Your therapist can facilitate any or all of these even if it means outsourcing and finding a specializing therapist.