July 06, 2020

Work Harder Than Your Clients

34 minutes

Curt and Katie chat about why and when you should ignore the advice to “not work harder than your clients.” We look at bias in goal-setting, managing risk, focusing on the client’s needs, and the importance of continuing education as well as on-going work outside of session.

It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.

In this episode we talk about:

The adage that you shouldn’t work harder than your clients

The concern that it gives permission to be lazy.

The importance of working hard as a therapist

Simplification of the concept of being more invested in the outcome than the client

Bad therapy practices – bias, lack of client determination, focusing on traditional treatment outcomes, investment in a specific outcome that may or may not align with clients’ values

Be present with your client on purpose, working hard

Deliberate practice versus complacency

Preparing for the situations that may come up, not just one specific concern

The “how” of therapy – looking at language, understanding, and relationship with the client

Consultation, self-assessment, case formulation

Better understanding of what the true workload is compared to your caseload

What you shouldn’t be doing to work harder within session

The business implications of working harder

Dismantling the truisms and oversimplified statements that get passed around

Clinical situations that require you to work harder than the clients

Working harder than a check box (clinical implications rather than liability check box)

Self-management – understanding why you’re doing what you’re doing

Questions to consider when looking at your efforts

Collaborative treatment planning (both overt and covert)

The impact of doing anti-racist work with clients who are not ready for it

The importance of identifying whose goal is being pursued in the room

The benefits of supervision and consultation

How to set covert goals, looking at work outside of session and timing

Dismantling assumptions and meeting clients where they are

The harder work we have to do is the work we need to do on ourselves

Responding to clients with curiosity, professionality, comfort, and authenticity

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By Curt Widhalm, LMFT and Katie Vernoy, LMFT

4.4

235235 ratings

July 06, 2020

Work Harder Than Your Clients

34 minutes

Work Harder Than Your Clients

In this episode we talk about:

The adage that you shouldn’t work harder than your clients

The concern that it gives permission to be lazy.

The importance of working hard as a therapist

Simplification of the concept of being more invested in the outcome than the client

Bad therapy practices – bias, lack of client determination, focusing on traditional treatment outcomes, investment in a specific outcome that may or may not align with clients’ values

Be present with your client on purpose, working hard

Deliberate practice versus complacency

Preparing for the situations that may come up, not just one specific concern

The “how” of therapy – looking at language, understanding, and relationship with the client

Consultation, self-assessment, case formulation

Better understanding of what the true workload is compared to your caseload

What you shouldn’t be doing to work harder within session

The business implications of working harder

Dismantling the truisms and oversimplified statements that get passed around

Clinical situations that require you to work harder than the clients

Working harder than a check box (clinical implications rather than liability check box)

Self-management – understanding why you’re doing what you’re doing