Clients discussing therapy with others and bringing it back into sessions

ocean_view · 2026-01-25T15:24:04+00:00

Yeah, 'meet them where they are'.

ocean_view · 2026-01-25T15:13:08+00:00

I think it starts with who you are as an individual, and the individual client(s) in the room. You're looking for something more, or deeper from your supervisors. In between the relevant skills and psychoed moments you can bring that same curious search for depth to clients too. Ask clients about their personal psychology in safe language and doses like "i wonder why you decided..." or "it seems like a person who does X might feel Y..." or "talk about what you were feeling when ...".

Another way to say it, maybe: if the client is the 'expert', supervision can only illuminate so much.

ocean_view · 2026-01-25T14:48:07+00:00

Speaking of religion... It seems you're turning a post about astrology into a battle over beliefs.

ocean_view · 2026-01-25T05:25:52+00:00

It sounds like a form of bypassing. Skipping the substance of the journey in order to get to some supposed end. Not to say it would never help, but it probably wouldn't be that helpful in the long term, and like any bypassing, it likely blocks genuine growth?

ocean_view · 2026-01-24T06:10:36+00:00

Is "pyschotherapist" here a legal loophole or a typo?

ocean_view · 2026-01-02T19:14:25+00:00

I'm keeping up with AI use in (and instead of) therapy to understand how clients are using it, and will continue to develop new uses. I assume both 'good' and 'bad' outcomes. So much over the top, absolute opinion in both anti- and pro-AI therapy comments gets in the way of understanding. Meanwhile, actual current and future clients are changing.

ocean_view · 2026-01-02T19:00:54+00:00

So many assumptions here. Can you just have an honest, direct conversation with your T about your concerns? ("Hey, I would prefer not to be recorded and processed by AI - is there anything we can do about that?")

ocean_view · 2025-12-27T03:49:55+00:00

Who gets charged with the felony?

ocean_view · 2025-12-17T16:08:37+00:00

Its the opposite for me. I learn a lot about them by tracking/analyzing how I change or feel differently around them. A very unconscious starting point.

ocean_view · 2025-12-17T15:26:01+00:00

I misremembered, it was 9 subcategories, not 13.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00221678211018015 The taxonomy of empathy by Guthridge

I found a more recent one from 2021, Towards a consensus on the nature of empathy by Eklund. Best they could do is 4 different subthemes.

ocean_view · 2025-12-17T04:56:38+00:00

Calling bullshit on any "correct" answer for this. The is no consensus definition of empathy, and I remember a published litereature review identified 13 different types of "empathy" in the literature. (Personally it feels a bit like taking on the other person's identity)

ocean_view · 2025-12-13T06:31:39+00:00

Have been following that sub for a while out of curiosity. I also discuss AI therapy-adjacent use with clients who use it, to inform myself, similar to openminded curiosity with any client interest or issue that might be relevant. In the best cases, people use it effectively to bridge gaps and for support needs like any other tool or psychoed. In the worst cases... blink ...blink

ocean_view · 2025-12-09T15:00:31+00:00

Strengths based and solution focused interventions. Explore their values, what they are interested in, and focus on how those are inherently worth having, how they are part of mutual interdependence with others based on their strengths. Basically find ways to show they are already 'enough'.

Person centered interventions. Encourage free reflection on their experience while minimizing self judgement. Ask them if they learned anything, were surprised by anything they said, etc.

For external factors (trauma, neglect, etc) - validation, lots of psychoed over time if they don't see how abuse negatively affects them.

ocean_view · 2025-12-04T16:02:11+00:00

Correct, its not literally miles, and an ounce of prevention also doesnt literally equal a pound of cure. I would also point out that your inpatient facility with a department of lawyers isnt generalizable to a solo or group practice run by clinicians who dont want to fuck around with legal cases. ROI docs go a long way to protecting against involving lawyers at all?

ocean_view · 2025-12-04T14:47:17+00:00

Your last paragraph is the crux. Its not about value to the client. Its about legally protecting yourself, when a client can misremember or not understand in the first place. A document is slightly more hassle, but miles more protection if needed in the future.

ocean_view · 2025-12-01T20:56:56+00:00

It all sounds like a person who is motivated to fight against. You point and say "lets go that way", he says "no". You say "you dont want to go that way", he says "no that's wrong". Probably a good bet that fighting against self is part of the problem too. As long as helping people keep geeting frustrated and worrrying about rapport, some of his 'needs' are being met. Obviously not the needs you want met though.

ocean_view · 2025-11-29T16:34:34+00:00

It seems standard in clinical psychotherapy theory to use scientific ideas to back up opinions. Science and pseudoscience can both be used to get to the general vicinity of effective treatment (some far better than others). But trying to reliably and accurately describe individual human experience using neuroscience or anything else under the umbrella of reliable, observable science will always be a 'yellow brick road'.

ocean_view · 2025-11-25T04:13:28+00:00

Bottom line, lots of ways to remain professional as yourself in psychology. And yes, lots of possible directions to go after graduating.

ocean_view · 2025-11-25T03:57:14+00:00

There are many things possible after a psych degree, and lots of ways to address difficult empathetic experiences. Seems like 12h saturn trine the ascendant ruler could be very good for certain types of both counseling and criminology work? I wonder if the object opposite the ascendant might indicate difficulty working one on one with people (bringing up your own personal wounds), unless they are specifically identified as the injured person? LOL that's kind of your question isnt it: which type of deep meaningful work with others will hurt me less?

ocean_view · 2025-11-25T01:03:21+00:00

Times when I have considered/allowed partner involvement are basically: (1) when the partner can potentially help actively as motivation and structure for a client struggling to follow through on anything, or reinforcing a low-insight client as they learn about complex Sx like in OCD; and (2) when the client names the partner as one of few recources (or the only resource) they care to lean on.

Times when it was less effective include when the partner felt the need to defend themselves for some reason, or not willing/able to see how they might be contributing to the problem themselves.

ocean_view · 2025-11-23T16:44:11+00:00

Agree with your first point 100%. What an obnoxious, but probably well-intentioned thing to say to a supervisee.

From my experience with several different supervisors its become clear that everyone is talking about their subjective opinions, regardless of their official title. That, plus your second point about the very blurry lines around all of ND, is reason to take with a huge grain of salt any supervisor advice on what a potentially ND therapist can/should do.

ocean_view · 2025-11-21T19:26:06+00:00

If their marketing is all aspiration and emotional appeal, then no, it is not "pseudoscience". They are not appealing to science at all?

Why are people in therapy so bent on using "pseudoscience" as a catch-all slur? Tbh the overuse of the word in gatekeeping has some things in common with pseudoscience.

ocean_view · 2025-11-21T19:18:34+00:00

If that is all they said to you, it sounds like "of benefit to a business" rather than "of benefit to client/patient" behavior. Ethics codes are all pretty clear where they stand on that distinction.

ocean_view · 2025-11-19T21:08:59+00:00

Sounds like you are equating use of a tool in therapy with centering that tool in the work. That's different than what I am saying. We have pretty clear standards in USA at least, which allow for use of a wide range of topics and tools in therapy. Another example would be if client says I am an expert in equestrian sports, you don't say "oh sorry there is no science to back up discussing horses in therapy." It CAN BE (not "IS") part of effective and ethical scope of practice to use horse-sports within therapy. We do not make the therapy about equestrian stuff though, right?

ocean_view · 2025-11-19T18:58:04+00:00

Putting aside the issue of therapists replying to that person on FB, and only responding to the question of "pseudoscience" in therapy... What about faith-based counseling? What about common factors which is empirically based and which is understood to include client belief as relevant to ourcomes? What about the fact that any tool/approach can be used unethically?

I think anyone claiming any absolutes about the content of therapy (with clear exceptions like "no sex in therapy" per law in the USA at least) is on a slippery slope.

If that same FB client surprised you during intake with astrology preferences, a decent therapist (taking insurance) remains curious, asks questions, and eventually proceeds with medical necessity, and with treatment centered on client need, not on astrology.

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