We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

— Joseph Campbell

 Psychotherapy

What is psychotherapy and how does it work

First and foremost, psychotherapy is a relationship between people, the psychotherapist and the client (one person +). Psychotherapy is the foundation and context of a relationship that develops over time, through continuity, collaboration, and authentic expression. The result is a trustworthy and ongoing conversation that supports the client to be curious, honest, and courageous in attending to their experience—present, past, and future. The word therapy is rooted in the Greek word therapeuein, which means “to attend, do service, take care of”— psychotherapy is a relationship wherein the therapist attends to the client.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing the world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something.

— Neil Gaiman

Capacities, awareness, and abilities psychotherapy can nurture and strengthen:

  • Vulnerability

  • Willingness to fumble & make mistakes

  • Self-awareness

  • Joy

  • Empowerment

  • Self-efficacy

  • Agency or choicefullness (it’s not a word, but it should be)

  • Sustaining positive states

  • Recovery from negative states

  • Focus and attention

  • Gratitude

  • Generosity

  • Courage

  • Resilience

When perfectionism is driving us, shame is always riding shotgun.

— Brené Brown

Patterns and habits psychotherapy can reduce or transmute:

  • Perfectionism

  • Shame

  • Self-hatred

  • Rigidity

  • Blame

  • Rumination

We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.

— Lucius Annaeus Seneca