So, should this experience of tracking our own change processes make us more empathetic or apathetic and lose all hope for change in our lives? I think for me, it has been a wake up call to recognize that change is incremental and it takes time. My supervisor said that change can happen over night but the build up to it is quiet a long path in itself. I knew theoretically about how change is a long process - however, at the micro level, I was struck by how our readings and experiences are influencing my clinical understanding of change and how that happens to us in our lives.
I hope my attempts to start and restart change helps me realize the interconnectedness and the dance of change in our own lives, which can help me be more empathetic to change efforts in client's lives. I often see that our clients are far more resilient and capable than we ever are in creating some of the changes we ask them to do. However, the power structure of therapy never helps them realize their own power. The best we can do is to help them get out of their own way so they set up for success vs. set up for failure with goals, homeworks, and evaluations.
I hope my attempts to start and restart change helps me realize the interconnectedness and the dance of change in our own lives, which can help me be more empathetic to change efforts in client's lives. I often see that our clients are far more resilient and capable than we ever are in creating some of the changes we ask them to do. However, the power structure of therapy never helps them realize their own power. The best we can do is to help them get out of their own way so they set up for success vs. set up for failure with goals, homeworks, and evaluations.
I enjoyed reading this post. I really liked the second paragraph and how you connected it to what we've talked about in class.
ReplyDeleteThis is good post. It helps remember that change is definitely a challenging process especially when we're spread so thin as grad students. It makes it hard to care and keep it in the forefront of our minds when we have to prioritize other obligations. So yes, I agree that our clients are often more persistent in achieving change than we give them credit for.
ReplyDelete