29 May 2013
What Do People Mean By “Resilience” As An Outcome Of Therapy?
It’s becoming a bit of a pop star in the academic and scientific world, the word “resilience”. But what does it mean when it’s used (say, like “empathy”) within the context of psychotherapy?
Let me give you a scenario…
You suffer from a general (though intermittent) anxiety revolving around things in your environment that are not within your control (think: a hornet buzzing around you on a patio, an untended tea kettle whistling in your neighbour’s kitchen). You find a therapist you feel comfortable with and for the next while you begin to explore what happens to you under these circumstances. You follow emotional threads which lead to your past. You are eventually able to delve into unresolved disturbances in your history, and perhaps how those events reverberated up to the present (not like a train track, but more like a spider’s web).
Throughout this process, the theme of “control” happens to re-occur, in various guises. The more time you spend seeing your therapist, the less chaotic and more real your life events begin to feel. Whereas you may have previously felt like a victim (even though you never self-identified as such), you begin to feel yourself moving away from that depiction. Your sense of self is clearer. You and your behaviours no longer seem to be strangers to one another. Eventually you find yourself sitting on a patio one day. A hornet lands on your glass. You watch it. It flies away, and you notice that you aren’t exhibiting the anxiety you used to. You no longer feel trapped in those moments. As a result you feel a lot better about your self and your sense of control.
That is an example of resilience.
If you are interested in learning more about my services, about me, or perhaps booking an appointment, please call me at 416-873-7828 or email me at info@downtowntherapy.ca for more information.
filed under: anxiety• general info• psychotherapy• resilience
9 May 2013
Artists on Depression
The blog Hyperbole and a Half has been receiving a lot of attention today due to an entry which very effectively illustrates (literally and figuratively) the author’s own recent experiences with depression. There is no single, monolithic “depression experience”. In other words, the author’s illustration doesn’t necessarily need to be seen as definitive (you may experience it differently).
The image here is from the blog entry. If you click on it it should take you there.
* I would like to make this part of an ongoing series, since the more shared perspectives on depression there are the better an understanding I feel people will have of what others go through.
If you are interested in learning more about my services, about me, or perhaps booking an appointment, please call me at 416-873-7828 or email me at info@downtowntherapy.ca for more information.
Recent Comments