Posted by admin on Jan 3, 2012 in Counseling and Therapy | Comments Off on What therapy can do for you
We all have a set of core assumptions and beliefs that color our perceptions and serve as a foundation for our values, and through which we make sense of our experience in the world. Many of us live our lives with no awareness of these core beliefs. Therapy in my view provides an opportunity to step back and begin the process of uncovering and understanding the core beliefs that guide us. Engaging in this process will enable you to make choices that are more creative and empowering.
Many of us hang on to belief systems that are not congruent with our current circumstances, our needs in the present, or our hopes and dreams for the future. Trying to live our lives according to belief systems that are out of tune with who we are in the present is painful and extremely limiting. In examining these beliefs we begin to know ourselves better and come to realize that since we are the authors of our core belief system we can change it to better meet our current needs.
By engaging in therapy we can revise the core beliefs that shape our lives so that they enhance our growth and development. When the core beliefs which determine our understanding of ourselves, the universe around us and our relationship to it are flawed and out of date, they cause us to develop unrealistic expectations, which in turn often lead to emotional distress and poor decision making. The challenge for me as a therapist and you as a patient is to work together to develop a core belief system that is effective in allowing you to have the quality of life you would like to have.
In order to reach this goal I propose a three staged approach. In the first stage I invite you to explore the core beliefs by which you have been living your life and to understand how you came to develop them. In the second stage I invite you to reflect upon these beliefs, to see which ones are still useful to you, which you would like to revise in order that you beliefs better reflect current reality. In the third stage you will recognize that you are no longer bound by a belief system that you developed in early childhood, but that you now have choice; you can go with the old way of thinking, or you can consciously chose the more adaptive belief system you are developing.
As you develop your ability to free yourself from the power of old outdated beliefs you will find that you make better decisions with more confidence in yourself, and are better equipped to deal with the challenges that life will continue to present. That is the goal of therapy.