Page 35 - NAMAH-Jan-2018

Namah Process-based psychotherapy

in psychotherapy and psychotherapy When dealing with disharmony or conflict
research) identified that the goal of his within the personality
theoretical approach was to help clients
move toward becoming more process- ● On the one hand you feel X (e.g., wanting
oriented with their internal experiences, to do something new), and on the other
rather than seeking simplistic logical and hand you feel Y (e.g., you do not want
rational conclusions (10). to change). How do you deal with this
conflict?
Process-based psychotherapy imple- ● How can you get different parts of your
mentation personality to work with each other? Or
do you prefer to keep things the way they
Now, we shall return to the questions are now?
of: How does a psychotherapist go
about implementing a process-based When dealing with negative patterns in
approach in practice, especially when emotion or thought
it is still being clearly defined? And
what would be the benefits of a process- ● How do you recognise when X (e.g.,
based approach to the clients of the anger, anxiety, self-criticism) is occurring
psychotherapist? Process-based approaches within you?
should strive to be collaborative (i.e., the ● How can you recognise this earlier?
psychotherapist and client are equal holders ● What makes you not notice until X occurs
of power), client-centred (i.e. permit the (e.g., the next day)?
client to define their own goals, feelings, ● Would you like to respond to this differently
etc.), process-based (i.e. questions that enquire when you see it arising within you? If so,
about what is happening right now, rather how?
than too much about the past), and ultimately ● How are you right now as a person and
focused on creating self-understanding. This how would you like to be in the future?
last element of creating self-understanding What do you need to do to get yourself
is particularly critical as it has the capacity to there?
empower the clients to be active participants ● (When the client has made a positive
in their psychological growth, even once the change) What did you do internally to bring
therapeutic relationship has ended. To use about that change so it can be recreated?
an analogy, helping clients learn how to
introspect and understand themselves, rather
than providing them superficial solutions, is
the difference between teaching a drowning
person how to swim versus throwing them
a liferaft.

Examples of questions that help clients intro-
spect, and subsequently witness, evaluate,
and refine their psychological nature, follow:

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