Psychotherapy

How is Psychotherapy Done?

Read about psychotherapy:

“How is Psychotherapy Done?” Psychotherapy is done at the individual level, at the group level and at the couple level. Its purpose is to make oneself more understandable and to bring the feelings of childhood to the surface of consciousness. The feelings we carry from our childhood determine the way we make relationships, that is, they essentially affect our whole life. These feelings are not always conscious. Most are locked in a space we call the unconscious. A place without consciousness. There, in this space, we push what hurt us, what scared us, what was threatening to us, what we couldn’t stand when we were children. So memories, images and feelings of that kind, we push them there. We call this process repulsion.

The therapeutic relationship

The therapist is there to accept the feelings of the client. So we’re looking at what’s going on between us. How does the patient see me? Does he see me as approachable? Like cold? Like familiar? As a punishment? That’s what we’re talking about. We do the opposite of what we do in our daily lives. In everyday life, we don’t analyze our anger with others, nor what annoyed us. Some we swallow, some we throw back, some lead to the dissolution of the relationship, in some relationships we hold grudges, etc. But in therapy we don’t hide all this, we talk about it. I’m ready to talk about what’s going on between us and encourage you to talk about your feelings. That’s where all the problems lie. These come from childhood. Our relationships with our parents separately and as a triangle, our relationships with our siblings, all these feelings are projected without anyone realizing it to the therapist. You make the therapist like your father sometimes, like your mother sometimes, like your brother sometimes, etc. What happens between us is extremely important and we do not leave it unattended. Whatever is there. Most people are afraid to open up because they think they are hiding terrible secrets that cannot be heard, come out to the surface. We see these difficulties and understand what obstacle comes forward to prevent this sharing from happening. We look at the shame and guilt part that is naturally built into every human being but sometimes it can be too much and cause great problems. All this happens within the therapeutic relationship where there is a special context, privacy, and one can bring oneself without fear.

The important context of the dream life

In addition to the therapeutic relationship, we pay attention to the dreams we see each night while sleeping. Many wonder why. We do this because we know that dreams disguise our real feelings, the ones we have repressed. We cannot understand dreams on our own. Like our unconscious life we cannot understand it on our own. Talking about the dream we see how the dreamer feels. You may see something pleasant but the feeling be sadness. There we see why this is contradictory. So the treated person mobilizes within himself and talks about what this contradiction that I gave as an example causes him. One can say: “I don’t see the contradiction for the first time in my life”. This is how we proceed and one manages to reach things that one did not think were hidden behind. When at the end he compares the dream and the interpretation given by the dreamer, he will see how artfully the dream hid the real meaning in order not to wake up the dreamer with the truth that can be frightening but also to indirectly convey the message that is hidden behind from the dream image. So it is extremely critical to see your dreams. The first is the therapeutic relationship. The second is the dream process. And the third is the leave. One is left to talk about what comes to mind at that time of the session. Let’s look at this factor as well.

I left it. We talk freely in therapy

Speaking freely is not simple. The defenses we have inside do not let us say what we want, how we want and when we want. One wants to bring out hatred but hides it. And it’s normal too. You don’t let your true self out. That would be neurotic behavior. We hide our true feelings or we’ll kill ourselves all day long. Can I accept a friend telling me that he likes my wife romantically? We will kill each other. Can I tell everyone who pissed me off how much I hate them? I can do something to show him that I don’t like him and that I won’t stand by and respond to what he did or said, but I will do it indirectly. Thus some balances are maintained. However, inside we must be aware of our real feelings and be able to react in such a way as not to suppress them. Suppressing doesn’t do any good, nor does saying your true feelings directly. In therapy we do this so that we can understand how we feel and what is wrong. Otherwise you don’t tell your wife that you went with someone else, it’s like killing her. Not even to your husband that you went with someone else. 92% of men cheat and 70% of women today. If the relationship you have is good, you don’t normally risk it. But if you do, you do it in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone and doesn’t ruin the relationship. So I am not saying everything in our daily life. But in therapy where there are all the conditions to see them deeply, to see the sources of feelings, the wounds, the wounds, the desires and the hidden feelings, there we speak freely. Even when there are resistances. Even when we are afraid, ashamed, guilty or whatever. We don’t censor what comes our way. I help with that too. I’m there to show you the way.

It is emotional therapy. No logic

In psychotherapy we look at our emotional life. We don’t look at things logically. We see what is hidden beneath the logic. So in this way and with all these auxiliary tools that I have described, the analysis of the therapeutic relationship, the processing of the dream process and the free association (letting go), we approach the unconscious world. Where there is no time and where desire reigns. All those who have entered a proper psychotherapy know that in time they can also enjoy the benefits of culture and not repress their feelings. They make better relationships, with real feelings, share life, live in the moment and know that happiness is close to us every day and we don’t have to chase it. Psychotherapy is a liberating relationship where we see ourselves better and better. So we don’t pass our problems on to our children or our partners. Of course, it takes effort to achieve all this and long-term work, but life acquires a more real dimension, meaning. Even if she is small, even if she is sometimes bitter. It is worth it to live it fully and reap all the fruits it has to offer.

*Republication of the article is prohibited without the written permission of the author

See also: Hypochondria

The process of psychotherapy requires commitment, dedication and is only for those who seriously see that they need to change their lives. If you are thinking of starting this journey, call me at 211 71 51 801 to make an appointment and see together how I can help you

Mixalis Paterakis
Psychologist Psychotherapist
I accept by appointment
Karneadou 37 Kolonaki
Tel: 211 71 51 801
www.mixalispaterakis.gr
www.psychotherapy.net.gr