What Can Patients Expect From Their Jungian Therapists?
You’ve determined that entering therapy would help you come to terms with something that has been bothersome for a long time. After checking out several Jungian therapists in the area, you’ve set up the first appointment. What can you expect from the therapist, and why does it matter? Here are a few points to keep in mind.
Someone Who Listens
One of the simplest things that the therapist will do is to give you his or her full attention. For the duration of the session, there is no one else in the world but you. This should not make you nervous. What it should do is help you to understand that the focus is on helping you feel better about yourself and life in general.
Therapists engage in what is known as active listening. That is, they concentrate on what you have to say, and get cues from your body language as you speak. The point is to do more than simply hear the words coming out of your mouth. It’s about capturing the meaning of those words as well.
And Someone Who Asks Questions
Because of the intense way that the therapist pays attention to you, it’s natural for there to be some questions. The goal is to check the therapist’s understandings and make sure both of you are on the same page. This helps to build stronger communication, and may even help you begin to take a closer look at some of the assumptions about yourself that you’ve made up to this point.
For example, the therapist may listen closely as you relate the details of whatever is on your mind at the time. After listening, the therapist may go over what was heard to ensure that it’s complete. What often happens is this exercise triggers some additional information that was not related the first time. Thanks to this approach, the patient may begin to see those events in a different light.
A Great Deal of Patience
In general, Jungian therapists tend to exercise a great deal of patience during sessions. They understand that patients may enter sessions with many thoughts on their mind, with few of them being in any organized state. In this scenario, the goal will be to help the patient make sense of those thoughts, and begin to put them in some sort of order.
This is not always an easy process. Even so, the therapist will persist, although the method may be adjusted to fit the current state of mind. Through it all, the therapist remains calm and provides a setting where the patient is free to express emotions, ask questions, share thoughts, or do whatever is necessary to provide some support to the patient.
Confidentiality Coupled With a Lack of Judgment
It can be intimidating to share certain thoughts or experiences with anyone, including therapists. At time, sit has to do with fear that the information will be shared elsewhere. Therapists don’t share patient information without the express permission of their patients. This is true even if the information will be used in some sort of paper to present as a professional association.
In like manner, therapists are not in the habit of judging patients who share information about some aspect of their lives or actions that they are not particularly proud about. Instead, the focus is on dealing with the resulting feelings and helping the patient cope with whatever took place in the past.
Therapy has proved helpful for a number of people. If you are feeling unsettled, consider seeing a therapist. There’s a good chance it will help you too.
