Boynton Beach Psychotherapist

PSYCHOTHERAPY THAT WORKS!

“What good is talking about it going to do,” I often hear. My typical response is, “Not much.” Sure, it’s nice to be listened to by a caring and empathic individual. And in minor incidents, this may be sufficient to provide a sense of relief. Being seen, cared for, and responded to is no small thing in today’s world. But for the majority of issues that bring people into psychotherapy, active listening is not enough to produce real change or transformation.

In science there are what are referred to as necessary causes and sufficient causes. Being present, non-judgmental, empathic, and compassionate are necessary qualities that create safety for a client to engage in deeper emotional work in psychotherapy. However, they are not sufficient in and of themselves to release emotional wounds, free one from past conditioning, and access your full potential.

Psychotherapy should not be information but an experience.

Psychology is now biology. As a result of discoveries and research in neuroscience and neurobiology over the last several decades, we now know what is happening in the brain and nervous system in regards to how trauma and blocked emotions are stored within the body on a cellular level.

Moreover, through the validation of neuroplasticity (the brain and nervous systems ability to rewire itself with experience from cradle to grave), we have a much greater understating of how to generate neurological change leading to a full resolution of client’s presenting symptoms, rather than symptom management, which is what medications and far too many therapeutic approaches offer at best.

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity is produced through a felt sense in the body and focused attention. This cannot be achieved by just sitting in a room and having a conversation. Moreover, the parts of the brain that are activated by higher-level thinking and speaking are often the impediment to accessing the mid and lower regions of the brain where the blocked emotional energy needing to be cleared are stored.

Memory reconsolidation

In addition to neuroplasticity, there is a neuroscience-validated concept known as memory reconsolidation. Research related to memory reconsolidation shows you need to access the old implicit memory networks (body/emotional memories), create an emotionally corrective experience and then release the emotional energy from the original event that led to the development of the emotional wound or burden a person is carrying to achieve full symptom resolution.

The one, two punch of therapeutic techniques that generate neuroplasticity and achieve memory consolidation is what separates psychotherapies that truly work from those that just provide information but no genuine transformation.

In relation to psychotherapy, if an individual has a history of being unheard and they experience being heard by the therapist, it is not enough to have the experience of being heard and responded to.

The therapist must guide the client into focusing on the felt sense in the body of what it actually FEELS like to be heard. This is one of the missing pieces in most counseling and psychotherapies.

As a therapist I may ask the client, “What was it like to be heard today,” and the client may respond, “It was nice.” What I want to then ask my client is, “What does nice feel like?’ “Where in your body do you notice the felt sense of feeling nice,” or “What in your body tells you I feel nice?” This is the experiential aspect of therapy. Research shows if an individual can locate and focus on this positive felt sense for an excess of twenty seconds it begins to generate new neural connections.

The ultimate goal of therapy is for you to complete therapy as a new biological self. This is change on a physiological level. Many of my clients are psychotherapists, coaches, or individuals committed to personal development, emotional growth, and achieving peak performance in all areas of life. They have engaged in prior psychotherapy or coaching, attended seminars and events, and taken numerous courses. They have often achieved gains and progress but become blocked or plateaued at a certain point.

They feel frustrated because they “know” what to do but cannot seem to “do” what they “know.” What is happening in many of these cases is the coach, therapist, or speaker at the seminar gets them into an empowered state, which can be exciting and encouraging. There is nothing wrong with learning how to shift your limited state into a more empowering one; this can be very useful at times. However, the same strategies for how to shift one’s emotional state often impede neuroplasticity. Once the hype dies down, all the same old disempowered states activate again due to the fact there was no true biological change.

The lack of sustained breakthrough is typically not the result of one’s lack of motivation, intelligence, or commitment level. It is because no neuroplasticity has been achieved. In psychotherapy, neuroplasticity is most created when there is an inward focus on experience, whether it is the felt sense, images, memories, emotions, or any internal subjective phenomena. Moreover, when you bring your focus of attention inward you activate the neural networks that hold the energy and information we are attempting to shift in psychotherapy.

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of why traditional talk therapy is ill equipped to produce real change and transformation and what contributes to psychotherapy that really works. Talking endlessly and attempting to come up with common sense solutions is ineffective in transforming trauma or creating any real significant change in the symptoms or presenting issues that bring people to seek psychotherapy.

If you would like to gain a greater understanding of how this process works or experience the power of experiential therapies for yourself, such as Internal Family Systems, Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy, EMDR, Brainspotting, or Somatic Experiencing, contact us today to schedule your initial session.

Boynton Beach Hawkins Counseling Center

Looking for a licensed psychotherapist to help you make positive changes in your life? Look no further than Hawkins Counseling Center in Boynton Beach. Contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can assist you.

For those seeking the best psychotherapists in Palm Beach County, Hawkins Counseling Center in Boynton Beach, FL is the perfect choice. Our team of experienced psychotherapists has received top ratings from numerous clients who have found us to be among the best in the region.