Experience in therapy a must for team
PSYCHOLOGIST Catherine Lappin knows how it feels to visit a therapist, to feel scared, suspicious and hopeful.
She is the lead counsellor at Thinking Outside the Box — a group of psychotherapists, hypnotherapists, teachers and youth and mental health workers in Belmont.
She says all of her team have been in therapy at some stage, making them a truly normal little group.
“The first and most important task is to help clients feel safe, accepted and judgment-free,” Catherine says.
“This is called forging a therapeutic alliance and is essential to a good therapeutic outcome.
“I also explain that therapy is not something done to you, but it is a dynamic, live experience which continues after the end of the session.”
Catherine says it is important that clients don’t feel they have to “spill their guts”, in fact the opposite is the case.
“They need to know that whatever doors to their lives and minds clients open in session, I am able to close before the end of the session,” she says.
“It is imperative the client does not leave traumatised from a disclosure made too early or one which was not needed at all.”
At the initial meeting, following a free phone consultation, the client elaborates on why they have come to therapy.
“I need to know from them what they want to achieve from therapy,” Catherine says.
“The latter is often very difficult for clients to articulate. They can tell me what they don’t want but are not so clear on what they do want.
“This is often very interesting for the clients because it allows them to fill in their own blanks, which is very powerful — this is Thinking Outside the Box at its best.”
Catherine recommends people do a mental wellness checklist when they are well and healthy, and write down the outcomes.
“It is always a good idea to give the list to someone you trust, who will let you know if they have noticed changes in your behaviour or demeanour,” she says.
She says this is how she keeps track of her own mental wellness.
“If you find the changes you are experiencing are distressing and ongoing, then it’s maybe time to talk to someone outside your friendship or family group,” she says.