Question: “I want to motivate my client to change.” I have been seeing one of my clients now for 10+ sessions and from the first session, she openly says, “I’m not motivated to try anything in therapy…even though I know I need to change!” She studies Law (a course she’s not interested in) and puts […]
Question: “I don’t like my client. Am I a bad therapist?” I have a client I’ve been working with for a few sessions now and I realise I’m struggling with feelings of dislike toward them. They presented with relationship issues (partner and family members), saying that they find it difficult to “be heard” and feel […]
Question: “How do I grow as a new therapist? ” As a new therapist, I’m struggling to know which therapy model is the best fit for me. My basic training has been in CBT, and I’ve explored DBT and ACT, as well as the more humanistic, person-centred approaches. It feels like there’s so much to […]
Question: “How can I deal with countertransference during sessions with clients who trigger me? ” This doesn’t happen often, but I notice I react when clients share their experiences of their partner, which I perceive to be unfair (and sometimes a little hypocritical). I’m aware these are my perceptions and that I’m reading into what the […]
Question: “I just fall into a kind of passive supporting role” As a new therapist, I realise I tend to turn sessions into conversations where I’m just asking questions and discussing the client’s responses. Afterward, the clients usually say the session has made them feel better, but I think that’s because they’ve just been able […]
Question: “What is unconditional positive regard and how we can apply it effectively to clients?” Recently, my supervisor watched a video recording of my session with a client and she said that I was not “showing unconditional positive regard”. When I asked her to elaborate, she said that I was “confronting the client” instead of […]
