Really Useful Therapy: Another way to look at things

Rolling with changes can mean adjustments to our usual way of doing things, but habits die hard. Maybe the way we've done things for years isn't the best way to do it now. How do we decide what, when, why and how to change anything in our lives?

Living at a time when uncertain events are occurring daily can make things feel unstable and maybe even scary. How do we get through this when everything feels like it's falling apart and things are so unpredictable?

All of us, as human beings, understandably need to have some type of expectations to guide our lives. What happens though when that yardstick of measurement is too narrow? 

For Dr. Who fans (aka proud nerds) there is a famous quote that states "in the end we are all stories, just make it a good one."  The stories told about us, to us and that we tell ourselves shape us and our identity.  We may be living out of stories or "narratives" that are not our own and that don't serve us.  Our job is to discover the unconscious stories playing out in our lives and reauthor or rewrite them in a way that gives us spiritual freedom and mental autonomy.  

The metaphor of art and creation is valuable in psychology.  Why is it some artwork is really appealing to some and not as much for others.  When we change the light, add colors, change the materials used and the textures, an art piece suddenly is transformed in some way and is perceived differently.  Our minds are no different.  How we decide to let in light, color and creativity has the power to "reframe" a life experience into something that provides transcendence of a previously painful experience into something that becomes useful and makes us who we are.  

Changing our focus can bring different meaning to previous and present experiences.  If we live life with a belief and a set of expectations that we will be "happy" if things go the way we want, we have already set up a metric for success we have no control over.  We can hope things turn out a certain way, but as we all know, there are no guarantees.  Nurturing an attitude or stance toward life that invites flexibility in what we decide to be aware of gives us a better foundation on which to build emotional wellness.  

Two seasoned mental health professionals reflect on a variety of topics integral in their therapy work with others across the years.  Discussion touches on research and academic theory but primarily focuses on anecdotal stories of what we have learned about the universality of being human and ultimately the importance of relationship both in therapy and in life.