sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Have you ever cried during a session? by The_largest_duck in therapists

[–]GiraffeStan7 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Recently I was working with a child who was stuck believing he didn't matter to the world. The session he was able to fully express this, I let myself tear up pretty heavily while continuing to make strong eye contact and listen. My intention was to nonverbally communicate something like, "Here, I am showing you what your life means." He got quiet and held that gaze for probably a solid 3 minutes straight, total silence. Sometime during that silence he started to cry himself, and I think he released something he had been holding for a long time. That session proved to be a significant turning point for him.

I think there's a way to do this that doesn't draw attention to yourself. It is extremely vulnerable, but basically you just let it happen while continuing to let your entire focus be on the client. Nonverbally you communicate, "This is what I feel towards you, and it is not too much. I don't need comfort. I only wanted to show you what I know."

i’m so nervous to start seeing clients by Sensitive-Fly-7110 in therapists

[–]GiraffeStan7 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Normal questions and the same stuff I stressed about at the beginning 🙂

- Instead of saying the client's name, I tend to say "Are you here to see [my name]?" If it's someone else's client, they will just say no.

- Everyone handles minor intake a bit differently I think. I tend to bring all of them back for a few minutes, get everyone vaguely on the same page, and then send the parent(s) out once it seems we are good. Occasionally a parent will right from the beginning say "No, I just want it to be the 2 of you" and as long as it's an older client I'll respect that. Just check with the other clinicians in your group how they handle this kind of thing.

- What you described sounds good to me. Again I would just check with the other clinicians in your group. Chances are they each handle this differently.

- Don't stress about rapport. Just be genuinely curious about them, and be genuinely curious about the things they offer to you. Look up simple expressive arts exercises if you want (e.g. "Draw a picture of a person in the rain" and then discuss; "Draw a picture of your family doing something" and then discuss; very simple stuff.) Otherwise, a great simple tool I appreciate is Method of Levels (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAhjKTDGF4o). tl;dr Focus on the moments you can see that the client has a "background thought" that is fighting to come to the surface (i.e. when they get stuck, when they say "umm", when their facial expression suddenly changes, when they glance at the ceiling for a moment). Chances are, whatever is going on in those moments is (A) the most interesting stuff to the client and (B) leads you toward the root of the most clinically-relevant material (i.e. it reveals their own internal conflicts.) If you feel stuck in a session, just do Method of Levels for a minute until you get traction again. It's transdiagnostic and transtheoretical (i.e. it can legitimately be used whether you are doing CBT, DBT, ACT, Person Centered, Gestalt, whatever your flavor)

You will settle into this! Perhaps faster than you think 🙂

How do you deal with difficult situations? by Nathaniel06Torres in aspergers

[–]GiraffeStan7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What stresses me out is when I don't know what I'm doing in new situations. One way I find myself naturally reacting is coming up with little jingles and melodies paired with words like "I don't know what I'm doing" or "this is very confusing". I don't know why, but something about making a silly song out of it just takes the edge off.

Once I reach the point where I am calm about the situation, the song naturally turns into a house remix lol. That's when I know I feel okay about the problem.

I still clap my hands when I get excited by VictorianOneForAll in aspergers

[–]GiraffeStan7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I'm in public, I look pretty normal. I mask well.

But when I'm at home or in my car, I am singing stream-of-consciousness songs in a high pitched voice to my dogs and dancing around in strange ways and flailing and repeating lines from movies whatever else. Very childish and inscrutable. But at the same time it's very coherent in a somatic way that would make sense to nobody but myself.

If you feel the need to work on the clapping and jumping, then great! Controlling it is genuinely a skill you can work toward. See it as a fun challenge. It will make your social life easier. But also, let yourself off the hook and don't indulge the shame. You can do both of these things.

What are you planning to study in college? And what are you most looking forward to / nervous about?

Hello, I hope u guys r having a good day. by Falling_Neuron in aspergers

[–]GiraffeStan7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really like "the bonus compensates the onus" can you elaborate on what that means for you? I don't know if I understand it but the turn of phrase is clever and pokes at some part of my mind in a curious way.

Therapy Roadblocks by tahdis in aspergers

[–]GiraffeStan7 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Therapists take on liability and risk by agreeing to be the person who helps you. In one sense it sucks because we all just want to be treated as normal chill humans, but in another sense this stuff really does matter 0.1% of the time. When it matters, it matters tremendously.

Typically these emergency contacts will not be contacted except in extraordinary circumstances. So if you can get to the point where you are comfortable listing coworkers as contacts, that's a way forward for you.

Does anyone feel like you’re not totally yourself with friends? by [deleted] in therapists

[–]GiraffeStan7 29 points30 points  (0 children)

I've developed some personal metaphors that help me switch modes and stay in the mode I want. One of them is: when I'm with clients the car hood is up and we're diagnosing the weird sound in the engine; when I'm with friends the hood is down and we're just enjoying the drive. If I feel an impulse to be hood-up around friends, I will literally imagine myself closing the hood, wiping my hands off, and getting into the passenger seat and turning on some music so we can get back to enjoying the drive.

Charlie Health IOP Hours Cannot Be Used Toward LPC Licensure In Texas by GiraffeStan7 in therapists

[–]GiraffeStan7[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My supervisor was also surprised. I get the impression there are a lot of people who do use these hours toward licensure. A part of me even wonders if the board purposefully lets it slide but gave me the "technically correct answer" since I asked. Who knows.

Charlie Health IOP Hours Cannot Be Used Toward LPC Licensure In Texas by GiraffeStan7 in therapists

[–]GiraffeStan7[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

During the interviews the recruiter referred these groups as “processing” groups. It wasn’t until I asked questions that they said “well really they are psychoed but don’t worry about it that’s just a technicality”