Posted by obsidian on August 5, 2009, at 22:41:49
In reply to Managing a therapeutic relationship, posted by emilyp on August 4, 2009, at 23:00:25
I think it is helpful if possible to maintain close relationships with people outside of therapy. I suppose this is a given though. I found that over time therapy gave me more of an ability to have those relationships.
I don't know...I didn't have close, trusting relationships with people before therapy, at least not to the extent that I do now. I think I had to grieve a lot of things, and I did so in real time, through my relationship with my therapist. It's tough though, that preoccupation that can come with being in therapy. I think you have to remain open to life outside of therapy and do a lot of self care.
I'll put forth the following random ideas:
1) read- what you can about what issues you struggle with, the therapy process, the relationship, etc. I do recommend "In Session", self help books, books that are meaningful to you2) keep interests- find those things you can be passionate about
3) find support- maybe a support group relevant to some issue you face
4) find some sort of healthy self expression outside of the therapy hour, i.e. writing, art, music, whatever
5) find a therapist who has the ability to set and maintain healthy boundaries- it's just so important
Pain is inevitable though, and as someone said somewhere - sometimes the only way out is through
.02
-sid
poster:obsidian
thread:910319
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20090730/msgs/910503.html