http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/2007/03/07/sometimes-we-can%e2%80%99t-help/ <<exploring healthy therapy & counseling>> Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:05:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/2007/03/07/sometimes-we-can%e2%80%99t-help/#comment-821 GoodTherapy.Blog :) » Blog Archive » How to Choose a Counselor or Therapist Mon, 23 Apr 2007 02:50:35 +0000 http://www.goodtherapy.org/custom/blog/?p=12#comment-821 [...] 8. Does the counselor make guarantees or promises?  It’s important for a therapist to provide hope, but not absolute unconditional guarantees. Let me explain:  What I often tell my clients is that if one has the will to change and puts in the necessary time and energy, healing is a possibility.  I believe that most of our wounds and defenses are the result of what has happened to us and around us.   I’m very confident that the work I do can help most anybody.  And in my experience, healing happens very quickly in psychotherapy - but only after getting safely through the layers of defensive gate keepers, which can take a long time, and deservingly so.  So, although everyone is capable of healing, changes can take years to happen for some people and, unfortunately because time is limited, one may never heal in this lifetime.  Additionally, people are not always at a time and place in their growth in which they are ready to heal.  Overall, there are numerous factors at play in the therapy process which may contribute to or interfere with healing and we can’t be conscious of all these variables.  What this means is that there are no guarantees without conditions.  So, beware of the therapist who guarantees or advertises a condition-less and absolute cure.  Here is more info on how “Sometimes We Can’t Help.” [...] [...] 8. Does the counselor make guarantees or promises?  It’s important for a therapist to provide hope, but not absolute unconditional guarantees. Let me explain:  What I often tell my clients is that if one has the will to change and puts in the necessary time and energy, healing is a possibility.  I believe that most of our wounds and defenses are the result of what has happened to us and around us.   I’m very confident that the work I do can help most anybody.  And in my experience, healing happens very quickly in psychotherapy - but only after getting safely through the layers of defensive gate keepers, which can take a long time, and deservingly so.  So, although everyone is capable of healing, changes can take years to happen for some people and, unfortunately because time is limited, one may never heal in this lifetime.  Additionally, people are not always at a time and place in their growth in which they are ready to heal.  Overall, there are numerous factors at play in the therapy process which may contribute to or interfere with healing and we can’t be conscious of all these variables.  What this means is that there are no guarantees without conditions.  So, beware of the therapist who guarantees or advertises a condition-less and absolute cure.  Here is more info on how “Sometimes We Can’t Help.” [...]

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