The clients that move forward in therapy the fastest are typically those who have weak defenses. Those who have stronger defenses take longer, but are more resilient. This is one of the reasons I typically see quick success in clients with high anxiety. They have not learned coping skills to repress the emotional and physical responses to stressors. Those who have strong defenses are able to repress and contain negative emotions and feelings, allowing them to be able to focus on their professional, social, and personal goals. However, this has a negative impact on their bodies and emotional regulation. In therapy clients who have strong defenses must allow them to come down to access their response to negative stimuli in their lives. This has to be done slowly to maintain their ability to function at a high level in their professional and personal lives and at the same time allow them to experience the risk of being vulnerable. I view it as the difference between creating a sculpture out of soft clay or stone. They clay is much easier to work with and quick change occurs. With stone it has to begin to crack and fracture before it’s form begins to change. Change is much more evident in those who have not been hardened by their environment. The therapeutic work involves identifying changing emotions, physical feelings or sensations and the cognitive thoughts that occur. By connecting these different aspects of self our perception of the world changes. The end result is the same, being comfortable in a much larger environment.
A path to wholeness