I have often been asked "what is a psychotherapist? "What's the difference between psychotherapy, psychiatry & psychology?" - as I said it's difficult to give a short answer to these kind of questions; however on reflection I think the best way of summing it up is to reflect on my own journey through psychotherapy. It is in a nutshell the discovery of self- a personal journey to reflect and understand the experiences we have had on life and how they have influenced our lives today. The journey can be tough at times; we need the ability and the willingness to explore all the different aspects of ourselves, our weaknesses and our strengths. This can lead us to a better understanding of how we relate to the world around us, being fully aware of our constructive and destructive tendencies.
Psychotherapy provides us with the opportunity to truly discover our authentic selves, truly know our belief systems and what we value including ourselves, the many talents that we have to enjoy and share in the world we live in. Often we can lose a sense of these as we are growing up for all kinds of reasons; early trauma, repeated traumas, unrealistic expectations, judgements, the environment we live in, relationships we experience: the list goes on. Through our experiences we may actually lose touch with a part of ourselves before we even truly know it e.g. creativity, emotional awareness; a sense of being robbed of something we didn't even know we had! That is something that I firmly believe that psychotherapy can help with; to rediscover ourselves in a whole new way, taking the fragmented parts of ourselves and bringing them back to a sense of wholeness. No matter what we tend to face in our life we will know that there is a good solid foundation that can deal with the many challenges life throws at us; even though we may feel extremely vulnerable in it, there is a rich strength within ourselves that we know won't abandon us in our hour of need.
What's the difference in the different mental health professions? In psychotherapy you won't get a diagnosis; however if there are mental health issues we can work with them in conjunction with a psychiatrist or a GP if necessary to meet your needs. Psychology; in truth there is a huge amount of psychology in psychotherapy; it gives us a greater understanding of LifeSpan Development and many of the theoretical influences from psychology have added to and expanded the rich knowledge that is evident within the field of psychotherapy. One more thing that I believe is that psychotherapy can also incorporate a deep philosophical aspect to the therapeutic work that maybe other professions in the field of mental health don't offer.
I also believe that when you embark on this psychotherapeutic journey that you need to be accompanied by a therapist who has had this experience; someone who can hear and understand what you need to speak, to accompany you on your journey and support you, to acknowledge and affirm your experiences, and to assist you in exploring what you need while keeping things in perspective, it is about you finding direction in your life. Psychotherapy is about finding a safe place to talk, there are no expectations and no judgements, it is a place that will allow you to be as you need to be, an acceptance of where you find yourself at any given time. Understandably it is often at moments of crisis that people find themselves coming to psychotherapy, crisis brings with it that need for change, the need to understand and the need to make meaning out of what is happening and how we transcend this crisis intact.
"Transformation of our trauma in a creative way requires us to go beyond the wrongs done to us and not to oppose or avenge, but to transcend our pain and injustice. This does not mean to forgive and forget, but rather to understand comprehend what has happened and go beyond it in some way." (Emmy van Deurzen - Psychotherapy and the Quest for Happiness 2009 p 123)
Crisis and catharsis can go hand in hand, going through crisis can without a doubt be a lonely place, it brings with it great stress and distress but knowing at some level we can work through it can provide us with a very necessary lifeline. The word Crisis can cover a multitude, and of course there are many different crises that we can face in our lives. We may have an understanding of the word crisis such as a trauma that has happened, or a life crisis through illness or separation; when we compare our experiences it may be that we think our problem is not worthy enough of support or indeed not big enough for psychotherapy that we are making a mountain out of a molehill. It might be worth remembering though that there is also that cognitive dissonance that we can feel when we are trying to live our lives through other peoples expectations rather than a true knowing of what we need ourselves and the direction in which we want to go; this can truly be one of the most lonely and isolating places to be. Psychotherapy I believe can offer a space to deal with this loneliness and gain a greater understanding of living by offering much needed support for someone to embark on a journey of understanding of what it is like to engage in truly authentic living.
"The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering." Ben Okri
References:
Psychotherapy and the Quest for Happiness by Emmy van Deurzen
Existential Counselling & Psychotherapy in Practice Third Edition by Emmy van Deurzen
