My first year of private practice has been an exciting journey. I have succeeded in some areas, failed in others, and had fun doing it all. Below are my experiences in seven different areas of developing my business. Today I have a giant office, a beautiful view of downtown Tulsa, financial stability, and work on my own schedule. Continue reading
Trauma is in the eye of the beholder. If something impacts a person in a significant way that elicits a traumatic response, then that is trauma. Oftentimes a more specific label of what defines trauma is sought out to exclude ourselves from being “like that.” In reality, the majority of people in the world will experience some type of trauma in their life. The reactions to trauma is what varies drastically between individuals.
Two children can be brought up in the exact same environment and one can grow into a successful professional, while the other ends up chemically dependent and homeless. Researchers continue to seek answers to the variations of this. Personally, I choose to allow trauma in my life to impact only in positive ways. That sounds simple, “I choose,” but really to make the change of how one’s trauma will impact them takes a great deal of work and self-care.
Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) seems to be a misunderstood modality by those who do not practice it regularly. I can attest it is a difficult but rewarding way to focus on finding solutions rather than drudging up underlying emotions. There are times when processing a trauma can definitely benefit an individual as done in the more well known Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). However, I firmly believe that if it is not in a person’s best interest to re-live and review a trauma, then don’t! Several clients have given feedback that they prefer my therapy because I do not make them talk about things they do not want to discuss.
That’s not to say there is not the confrontation in SFBT that there is in CBT. It just manifests in a completely different way. Basically, it is the client’s job to use their cognitive abilities both in and out of sessions to grow the intrinsic motivation that exists. I say it exists because by coming to the office and sitting in front of a counselor, a person has already shown they have it inside themselves to make change happen.
The way I speak on this blog, I allow my words to flow freely and may say things potentially offensive. This is okay because blogging and therapy are very different creatures. I think the coolest thing that could happen from writing this blog post is that others will begin dialogue in the comments section.
To be able to work with a diverse population and be effective in achieving treatment plan goals is something that many counselors desire. I feel like SFBT will increase my efficacy when working with various populations that have different backgrounds than me.
I have probably come across another single bisexual Hispanic female that was raised in poverty with a mentally ill mother and are now part of the middle class. While others may share my upbringing and lens of the world, the fact is that most people sitting across from me have an entirely different lens through which they see the world. The freedom that SFBT allows is for me to explore the world through each consumer’s lens and each individual’s experiences.
Some of the worst things a counselor can say in my opinion include “get over it,” “I understand,” and “it will get better with time.” Who the hell am I to say with any accuracy that the proverbial ‘it’ will always get better with the passing of time?! With good intentions, clinicians have the ability to enhance potentiation or do serious damage. The most appealing piece of SFBT is it has not been found to cause any harm.
Occasionally I speak before thinking, a good example of that is when I told a coworker that he did not strike me as a “male man,” at which time he informed me he was very much a manly man and did all sorts of manly things like working on cars and watching sports. Can you imagine if I put my foot that far in my mouth in a session with a consumer?! By allowing the consumer to set the language for the session, nothing said will be offensive because I can use their language. I can ask questions with curiosity without saying something potentially indelicate.
“Solutions need not be directly related to the problems they are meant to solve.” -Steve de Shazer