How is patient participation encouraged in psychotherapy?

There are not a few people who, when proposing to start offering psychotherapy services after having trained in Psychology, fall into the trap of assuming that their work is limited to applying techniques on patients. This unilateral way of understanding psychological therapy implies overlooking the fact that a dialectical process takes place in the psychologist's office between psychologist and patient: both parties must do their part to give rise to an adequate therapeutic alliance, something that goes beyond the sum of two people as individuals.

In the ever-changing flux that is psychotherapy, practitioners must be able to accept that they are not in total control. on the sessions, on the one hand, and that their job is to facilitate the patient to get in tune with psychotherapy, on the other. In other words: know strategies to encourage the participation and involvement of the patient in the therapeutic process. We will talk about it in this article: what can be done so that, while psychologists recognize the autonomy of patients,

make things easy for them to be interested in the therapy coming to fruition.

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What do psychologists do to encourage patient participation in the therapeutic process?

It is of little use for a person to go to psychotherapy for the first time if he quickly comes to the conclusion that it will not do him any good and in a couple of weeks he stops coming to the sessions. In the same way, it does not allow progress for patients to go to a psychologist just to let off steam having someone who listens to them, as if the simple fact of complaining about how bad things are going to allow them to improve their situation. For patients to transform their lives and improve their quality of life it is essential that they want to change and that they allow psychologists to give them the support they need.

These are some of the most important strategies psychologists use to make it easier for patients to get involved. in psychotherapy, both in sessions and in carrying out tasks every day to achieve their goals therapeutic.

1. Analyze the reinforcers in operation when you arrive at the consultation

The work begins by understanding what are the incentive systems that are behind the patterns of behavior of the patient since before starting therapy, and that are related to the problem that she wants overcome. In this way it is possible to identify those that are problematic (for example, those that keep management going). dysfunctional anxiety) and those that offer promising opportunities, but whose potential has not yet been realized. squeezed. In this way, by making relatively few changes, the person can move into a much more fit mindset and embrace a more emotionally healthy lifestyle.

• You may be interested: "The 16 types of reinforcers (and their characteristics)"

2. Reinforce your self-esteem through cognitive restructuring

Self-esteem is closely linked to self-efficacy, the conception we have about our own horizon of personal development and learning, and what gives us an image of everything we are capable of if we we propose Therefore, helping patients maintain an adequate level of self-esteem, neither too low nor too inflated, is essential for them to "connect" emotionally with the therapeutic process, so that they feel capable of achieving the goal of therapy and know how to recognize their progress as such. And it is this sense, the cognitive restructuring directed to question the most dysfunctional beliefs about oneself it is key so that they do not get discouraged and trust in their latent aptitudes and talents.

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3. Establish a program of sub-goals adjusted to the level of difficulty

Psychotherapy should always set goals that are not limited to the final objective and that provide references about the progress that the patient may be making. This will allow you to have a detailed image of his achievements, something that shows you that his effort and involvement has rewards that are noticed relatively quickly.

But for this segmentation of goals and sub-goals to work, they must correspond to the difficulty curve that fits the patient's abilities and their learning pace. If it doesn't provide you with significant challenges, you'll feel stuck and lose interest in therapy, and if everything costs him too much, he may even worsen his condition by assuming that he cannot do anything to improve his situation.

• You may be interested: "Types of motivation: the 8 motivational sources"

4. Maintain frequent dialogue with family members

If possible, it is very important to maintain a flow of communication with family members, doing everything possible so that they adapt to the lifestyle promoted in psychotherapy and because they are interested in its advances, so that they are part of everything that motivates the person to continue improving (by creating expectations around you and at the same time feeling good whenever others recognize and appreciate your progress). All this making it clear to the patient that the confidentiality of the sensitive information discussed in the sessions is fully maintained.

• Related article: "Family therapy: types and forms of application"

Do you want to train in effective psychotherapy strategies?

If you are interested in specializing in psychotherapy practices in patient care, the Postgraduate course in intervention formats and therapeutic techniques offered by the Mensalus Institute is for you.

It is a training program aimed at graduates and graduates in Psychology who want to professionalize in the clinical field, lasting 6 months, and which gives the possibility of being carried out online way. From an integrating theoretical position that combines various currents of psychology and psychotherapy techniques, this Master is taught by psychologists who dedicate most of their professional dedication to patient care, and having the Mensalus psychology clinic as its epicenter, gives the possibility of learning about the day-to-day details of this type of worked.