Learn Additional Skills And Do Training To Help Your Clients

Many clients come to therapy with the hope of getting rid of their unwanted experiences. How do I get him to stop? I often then ask the concerned adult which game the child is playing, only to be met with, I honestly have no idea. I never asked. To ask about the game the person is playing is the most essential question we can ask when working with clients who like to play games. Chances are, they have already been shamed, questioned, and misunderstood. Older clients can fill it out themselves. So, let’s focus on the games that you like to play. Which games do you like to play? What is your favorite game? What do you like about this game? Who do you usually play with? How often do you play? What do you have to do in order to win? What is your character like in this game? What is it like when you win? How do you feel when you win? What is it like when you lose? What do you feel and what do you do when you lose? When are you most likely to play this game? Like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, you don’t have time to add yet another item to your daily tasks. Don’t worry, nothing on this list will take much of your time, hardly any at all, but hopefully it will help to supercharge you for your already hectic schedule. Take one intentional breath while switching between tasks or appointments. This very brief mindfulness practice can help you to refocus and reduce fatigue. Ask yourself, Am I breathing or was I holding my breath? Am I tensing or relaxed? Do I need to use the restroom? Brief moments of this kind can alert you to what you need, remind you to breathe, eat, and take care of yourself in order to increase your productivity.

Just Like Strange Rain

Any time you come to a stop, check your body. Are you leaning forward, as if trying to make your car or the tube go faster? Are you clenching your jaw? Are your shoulders raised close to your ears or are they relaxed? It might seem like you are going at snail speed but actually, you’re helping to manage your nervous system. By moving and talking just a little bit slower, you are helping to balance your nervous system, so that you don’t run out of energy. For example, see if you can eat at least one part of one of your meals slowly and mindfully to truly enjoy it. Or perhaps see if you can sip your tea or coffee in the morning for a few minutes in a slow, savoring, mindful way before you jump into the vortex of your day. Are monsters really monsters? Or are they scary because we are scared and hurtful because we are hurt? What if monsters are actually just scared and defenceless beings, who simply don’t know how to receive the support they so desperately need? The following activity offers an experiential practice for the client to work toward developing a sense of compassion toward their inner monsters. Is it perhaps possible that they are scary because we are scared and hurtful because we are hurt? In other words, could the monsters be a representation of an injured part of us that really needs love and healing? Let’s try a brief writing exercise. Think about who your monsters are and what they are typically telling you. What are some of the messages they frequently send you? Next, take a moment to consider that the monsters are not reacting this way out of malice but rather because they have some kind of an unmet need, such as the need for love, support, or emotional or physical safety. Write down what your monsters might actually need when they are behaving this way. Next, take a moment to imagine that perhaps they are actually trying to protect you from something but are not using the best strategies for doing so. For instance, your monsters could be trying to protect you from criticism by first criticizing you so harshly that no matter what anyone else says, it couldn’t be as bad as what your monster says to you.

Love Comes Tumbling

Or perhaps your monsters are trying to protect you from rejection, heartbreak, or further pain? See if you can write down some possibilities of what your monsters might be trying to protect you from. Now, see if you can thank the monsters for looking out for you and give them reassurance that you don’t need their help any longer. For example, you can say, Thanks, anxiety. And at the same time, I find that it is in the middle of our hardest work that sometimes the biggest changes happen. You care so much that you are going out of your way to learn additional skills and do additional trainings to help your clients. You think about how to help them not only in the session but between the sessions too. And your clients are thinking about what they’ve learned in between sessions too. So, the next time that your monster makes you think that you are not good at what you do, I hope that you can thank your monster, all the while letting it know, Thanks, I’ve got it from here. Because you do. Thank you for all that you do and all the times you have shown up even when it was difficult. You are the true definition of a hero. To a large degree, that’s true.

Like A Rolling Stone

Your experiences, your desire to help people, your wanting to make a difference in this world have brought you to this line of work. But there could be something else too. For many of us, as providers, this journey is also about finding meaning after our own painful struggles. I used to hate my migraines. Any time the weather would change, I would get blinding headaches that would bring me to my knees.