| Many years ago, a young lady approached me for | | | | But from the physical body's perspective, it is getting |
| psychotherapy treatment. In our first meeting I | | | | used to the emotions and is processing the emotions. |
| explained to her the process of change that she | | | | The end result of the process is therefore always |
| would experience. She was told explicitly that she | | | | positive. |
| would experience release of anger as she worked in | | | | Problem arises when someone stops the process of |
| the process. I then gave her an exercise to do as | | | | therapy when they are going through a bad time. |
| homework. Two sessions later, a nasty email | | | | This is done because the person may believe |
| appeared in my mailbox. It was full of venom that | | | | erroneously that they will never get well. 'I came to |
| the young lady had been carrying within herself for | | | | get better and I have become worse. So the |
| so many years of her life. She asked me to cancel | | | | therapy is making me worse. I do not want to do |
| her next appointment, which I did and never saw her | | | | this'. These sentences are common to those people |
| again. | | | | who lack the understanding of the process of change |
| This is one of the few examples from the client's | | | | that takes place in psychotherapy. This results in their |
| perspective when therapy is considered 'bad'. The | | | | discontinuing the process of healing themselves. If |
| interesting thing was that I was fully cognizant of | | | | instead they would have persevered with the |
| what was happening. But who could reason with an | | | | process they could reach the stage of happiness and |
| angry person? I was not in a position to explain or be | | | | contentment that they look for. |
| heard at that time. Wisdom demanded that I let her | | | | If a therapist is not experienced or not well trained, |
| go and I did. | | | | they may get the impression that whatever they are |
| Sometimes psychotherapies are considered bad or | | | | doing is not working. This may set a sense of |
| destructive and sometimes they are supposed to do | | | | anxiety in the therapist. This anxiety makes things |
| good the client. Someone who has knowledge and | | | | worse for the client because the client can |
| experience of psychotherapy process will say that | | | | unconsciously be affected by the emotional state of |
| the outcome of all psychotherapies is good. The | | | | the therapist. |
| word 'psychotherapy' means 'healing of the soul'. It is | | | | Psychotherapy is a process that requires patience on |
| a process in which a person deals with the fears, | | | | the part of the client and also on the part of the |
| hurts and traumas they have undergone in their lives. | | | | therapist. If one of them is impatient, the process |
| In the journey that one goes through, there are | | | | cannot be brought to a satisfactory conclusion. If |
| changes in mood states. The anger and bitterness | | | | both of them are patient and the therapist is well |
| that a person carries comes out. From an outsider' s | | | | trained, the outcome is bound to be positive. This is |
| perspective, the person becomes worse than before. | | | | my experience and observation. |