IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A STRATEGIC THERAPIST OR COACH THESE ARE THE FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

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1. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO ME WHEN I ENGAGE A STRATEGIC THERAPIST?

 

The first very real benefit is that the therapy will be brief, targeted, and results-driven.

 

A Strategic therapist will not spend hours going through your childhood, hurts, wounds, and traumas seeking to find links or explanations for why you are the way you are right now.

 

The more 'past history/story" you get into, the longer therapy is going to take.

 

Most forms of brief therapy focus on how you generate the problem in the present time. It will look at the nature of your decision-making, what you attend to, and the actions you habitually take.

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The truth is the way you are now is a result of the patterns that you’ve developed over time through countless interactions with family, teachers, peers, employers, the community generally, and the media.

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Realistically, the idea that a parent could utter a single phrase, or a single event could occur and this changes you immeasurably is not supported by the evidence.

 

The linear causal model as it is known, has largely been debunked in the literature, but is still commonplace in therapy.

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There is no doubt that terrible things can happen and affect you, but everyone responds differently to trauma and challenge. Some people manage it very well while others fall apart.

 

What is the difference? The difference is your cognitive pattern. Your style of thinking that you have learned.

 

If you lean towards pessimism you will be more prone to anxiety, depression, and addiction.

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Optimism on the other hand is more likely to be more resilient because they do not amplify the problem with imagined negative consequences. 

 

A strategic therapist will look to change your pattern of thinking and behaving so that you are more resilient & skills rich moving forward.

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This can be done in a brief therapy context. This means you’re investing less time and energy in getting very solid results.

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2. HOW LONG SHOULD MY TREATMENT TAKE IF I ENGAGE A BRIEF THERAPIST?

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At the end of the day, it really comes back to how long it takes to learn how to operate differently in the world. The good news is that the benefits of a relatively minor investment in time and money compared to maintaining the problem.

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If you think about what it costs you to be a smoker in a year or to struggle with anxiety, alcohol, or a phobia. If you think of the compensatory behaviour you are likely to run, whether it’s retail therapy or some other costly activity, the upside of good therapy is obvious.

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Depending on the model the number of sessions will vary depending on the presenting condition and the specific model of therapist you engage. A therapeutic model is considered brief if it is less than 20 sessions in a treatment plan.

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Most strategic practitioners would rarely exceed the sessions under your were engaging in a coaching programme where supporting you over time is fundamental to the process.

 

Models of therapeutic engagement - like Hypnotherapy would usually require no more than four or six sessions, and sometimes less than that.

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3. HOW DO I KNOW IF MY THERAPIST IS WELL TRAINED, FULLY INSURED, AND WELL SUPERVISED?

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Membership to the International Strategic Psychotherapist Association is the first indicator that your therapist has the appropriate qualifications, supervision, and ongoing professional development.

ISPA requires its therapists to be on a certain educational standard, be supervised by experienced supervisors who have been trained specifically for that role, and commit to Continuous Professional Development so they keep up-to-date with the latest research methods and practices.

Each of the ISPA Colleges has a slightly different educational requirement. Some require a bare minimum of a government-accredited diploma, while others value industry experience. LEARN MORE

Then, within the Colleges, there are different levels of membership that reflect the therapist’s experience and their commitment to Continuous Professional Development.
LEARN MORE

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4. WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT TO PAY FOR THERAPY?

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The hourly rate for therapy varies enormously depending on your location, and the therapist’s individual fees. Some therapists will charge $140-$180 per hour, while others may be closer to $400 per hour.  
 

Many will have some sort of package arrangement where you can pay for a series of sessions and receive some sort of discounted arrangement if you pay upfront.

Our suggestion is you do the first session to trial if this therapist is a good fit for you, and then at the end of the first session, you can decide if you want to continue and take the option of a package that suits your specific treatment needs.

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Exactly what you specifically need should be established in the first session. By the end of the first session, your therapist should have a rough idea of how long you need to spend together. The length of treatment will vary on your openness to treatment, the type of therapeutic model, and the complexity of the condition itself.

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What makes a condition complex? You might come to therapy or coaching because you are drinking too much and cannot seem to stop. So addiction is the presenting issue. However, during the interview, it becomes clear that you are running high levels of anxiety and are having trouble sleeping, which in part is why you are drinking so much. It is your way of winding down in the evening. Then on top of that, you feel bad about yourself because you just can’t seem to control the alcohol.

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Now the problem is not just “help me stop drinking.” It’s going to take some time because now we have at least four targets. We have the addiction, the anxiety, the sleep issue, and the self-esteem. If we don’t tackle all of these conditions the your benefits will be temporary.

There’s a considerable difference between feeling better and doing better. Doing better means that you’ve developed new skills and capacities and can handle more pressure than you could prior to doing therapy.

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5. HOW DO I CHOOSE WHICH TYPE OF STRATEGIC MODEL?

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This depends on what you are looking to achieve and your personal preferences.

Coaching
People typically come to Strategic Coaching to pursue goals they would otherwise never achieve without the support of a coach. Sometimes the personal impediments to achievement will emerge and will have to be dealt with, but the focus of coaching is about achievement rather than dealing with issues.
Most coaching programmes span a 12-week timeframe.

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Hypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is one of the briefest forms of therapy available. Because it is focused on the non-conscious process it requires less conscious discussion and deals with the issues where they exist, in the unconscious mind.

You would recognize that if you have a problem you invariably have an internal conflict. there’s a part of you that knows that you should do something, but you can’t bring yourself to do it. Or you know that you need to stop something, and for whatever reason, you can’t seem to stop. This is the conflict that makes it a problem.

This reflects the conflict between the conscious and unconscious mind. Hypnotherapy can integrate your conscious and unconscious minds affectively and quickly and is backed by a plethora of empirical evidence of its effectiveness. When you combine Clinical Hypnotherapy with Strategic Psychotherapy, you are absolutely cooking with gas.

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Gordian Therapy
Gordian Therapy is a specific socio-cognitive approach focused on addressing the cognitive distortions a person runs in order to generate a problem. Distortions like over-analysis, constantly catastrophizing or negative thinking, all or nothing or dichotomous thinking, perfectionism, or a highly critical internal dialogue are the specific targets of Gordian Therapy.

According to a Gordian Approach, each condition you are likely to struggle with has a specific and predictable framework they will target. This approach is fast and effective because it does target the process of the condition, not the story behind it.

Gordian Therapy can be employed with many forms of psychotherapy, but most therapists combine the Gordian Approach with hypnotherapy. This combination is known as Strategic Hypnosis.

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Psychotherapy
Our College of Psychotherapists covers many differing shades of psychotherapy and counselling. It is essentially talk therapy, and you will spend more time discussing the issue than you would with a trance-based therapy like Hypnotherapy.

Many people choose psychotherapy if they are not comfortable with the trance-based approaches, or want to spend a little more time in understanding their circumstances, or learning specific communication skills that require the ability to role-play something out or rehearse how they will tackle something with the therapist.

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"Begin With the End in Mind" - Dr. Stephen R. Covey

This means to begin each day, task, or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination, and then continue by flexing your proactive muscles to make things happen.

A coach can help you to not only set your goals, & also help you identify what your goals will be and what will serve you best in both short term or long term goaling, and help you to keep exercising those processes with accountability and agility.

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Procrastinating?
 

People procrastinate most when they use their feelings as evidence - I can help you to use skills and strategies - that help you to stop overthinking and not go into feelings that can overwhelm you and get you stuck in the procrastination loop.

 

If you wonder if you can be helped this way - check these out and see these things sound familiar:

I don't "feel' like doing something - so why start, or why even bother at all?
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I'm not ready to start yet - am I?  - where would I even start?  How would I even start?
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I don't think I have enough to even start - and not enough to make it perfect - so why start - or - why bother?
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When I even think about starting - it all just becomes overwhelming - so I think I will just postpone it until I feel like doing it!  that will work, won't it?
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"I don't know where to begin, or even how to begin... it is just too much, I think this is too overwhelming!  No-one, not me in particular could finish this - could we?
"Is it even that important right now?  I can wait until I HAVE to do it, then I can get it done at teh last minute - can't I?"

And thousands of other thoughts around how to not do something - instead of just starting...

The think is - When you start to subconsciously,  pay a lot of attention to your negative thoughts - these start to generate the "feelings'  that are causing you to question everything and that then keeps you STUCK.

Procrastination - is about being stuck - in large part because you are subconsciously paying too much attention to your negative emotions &  feelings, (Which in general are thoughts generated by you, that you cannot answer. )

You can project all manner of issues and catastrophes and theories and reasons as to why you are stuck -  You can worry all that you like, but worry and overthinking - and no action - means you won't change anything.

The good news is that this pattern of behaviour can stop, you can change - and you will get moving and stop procrastinating.

 

Want to stop procrastinating?

I can show you skills, processes and strategies - and how to think better and manage your feelings  HOW to get back into action - and start to take back control over your time, your thoughts and those feelings - so you get to get things done!
 

Focus is your key - how to do find you focus, keep your focus and - you will be amazed how quickly and how well you can finish.  It is how people develop a winning strategy - in their home life, sporting life, work life... Everywhere - with everything!

It is possible - and yes - I can help.

Call now to find out HOW - and get started on a better way forward - NOW.

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What motivates the therapist you  choose?
That is an interesting question you could ask your coach/therapist.
What things, you as a client, will  find important to you, in selecting your therapist?
What is the best fit for you?
Your questions can range from :
Does this therapist have the key skills to help move you quickly forward from the problem space to a better way of thinking and navigating the world to get the behavioural outcomes you want?
 

If you want to know about me, please speak to me if you want that 15 minute chat - costs nothing - get to see and hear how we can work together - to get you results, and discover that I care  deeply about people and how well they can do in every aspect of their life.  I want you to have outcomes that will give you the life you desire, and to have those outcomes land and to give you long lasting results.

 

I do a lot of volunteer work now, and I always have done.  It is a family trait.  from before I was born, my family had a culture of care, service and wishing to serve others well.  When you engage with me, it means I can help you, and also continue to help others as well.  

People generally feel improvements to their own life, when there is a level of helping and serving others - I learnt as a child, that helping others was a pathway to happiness and fulfilment - so, if you are ready, let me help you too.

 

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