Therapists on Your Couch

Curt and Katie talk about the nuance of treating therapists in therapy. We look at the unique dynamics in the therapeutic relationship as well as common traps to avoid.   

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 lack of research or guidance on how to treat therapists in therapy
• How different are therapists as therapy clients
• What it is like to have a therapist for a therapy client
• What to assess for with therapists
• The importance of looking at what the presenting problem is
• The expectation that therapists would be different that other clients
• The therapeutic alliance and dual relationship conversations
• The dynamic of making assumptions about therapists as clients
• The theme of competition between client and therapist
• Therapists overidentifying with therapist clients and making inaccurate assumptions
• A different type of presenting problem and length of treatment
• Common coping strategies (i.e., rationalization, focusing on cognition, non-judgmental, disconnect from feelings) that need to be overcome more with therapist clients
• Clarifying the role and rules in the room, so we can take off the armor
• Avoiding the temptation of staying in intellect and insight
• Pushing for some comparison to other clients – reassurance, validation, vulnerability, trying to please or take care of the therapist
• The importance of the therapist holding the container, so the therapist-client can do their work
• How to navigate the differences between being a therapist and a supervisor or a manager
• How therapists are like other clients, but totally different

Resources mentioned:

We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links.

Therapy Reimagined 2020 Call for Speakers

Relevant Episodes:

Therapists in Therapy

Connect with us!

Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapists Group

Get Notified About Therapy Reimagined 2020 (and TR2019 Virtual Conference)

Our consultation services:

The Fifty-Minute Hour

 Credits:

Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/

Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano http://www.crystalmangano.com/