And trust me, I've tried. I am not sure why Euro-Western culture is so obsessed with uniform, manualized “work” created by so called “experts.” I suppose it has to do with the assumption that if something can’t be measured, it doesn’t exist. My PDA brain just can’t seem to get on board. When I originally wanted to become a therapist, it never occurred to me that the field had thousands of different types of therapies, many with their own manuals and rules.
Insurance loves manualized, “evidence-based” therapy. The more the world has tried to standardize me and force me to follow various formulas, the more I have wanted to run away. I think I might be allergic to standardization. There are so many therapies I’ve been trained in that I simply cannot follow because of how manualized and rule-based they are. Some of these are EMDR, CBT, DBT… I like concepts from these therapies (and I do pull from them) but I could never sit down and follow some sequence in a book. I simply don’t conceptualize healing and therapy in that way.
I see healing as more spontaneous and improvisational, dynamic and happening in the moment, person to person. In fact, I see life like this and anything that tries to put life into a box seems too simplistic and limiting.
When I think of the times I have grown as a human, it has been such a wild mix of factors at play, and it could never be standardized or reliably replicated. The spirit in which I approach therapy reflects this. I am guided by principles and values and not by rote techniques and interventions. I see myself as a compassionate helper for people to discover more about themselves and see the world with new eyes. In fact, I am discovering alongside my client and therefore, I am changed by the process as much as they are. We are on a journey together. My approach with each person is unique because they are unique.
Freedom is one of my highest values so it seems quiet silly to engage in work that would limit freedom instead of embracing it.
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