Courageous Speech and Disciplined Spontaneity

The work of therapy is difficult and arduous.  Oftentimes, it is challenging to sit with these painful and heavy emotions, and to work through trauma and relational dynamics.  The traditional model of psychotherapy espoused a blank screen approach, or a more distant and authoritarian stance.  This meant that the therapist would listen and make interpretations when needed.  A massive shift came in the form of more relational modalities that moved away from this way of doing therapy– towards something more active and engaging.  Much has been written about this relational turn, and it is in this tradition that I practice and am currently receiving post-graduate training in through the Relationally-Focused Psychodynamic Therapy training program.  

A core competency aroused by this model is that of courageous speech and disciplined spontaneity.  This means that I don’t just sit back and listen—that I engage with whoever is sitting with me in the room in a brave and disciplined manner.  This means my speaking to and addressing that which will heal, but I or the other person might be afraid to bring up, for fear of possible abandonment or inflicting pain.  It is courageous for attend to the hard emotions and painful dynamics that we often let go in silence, preferring to just be polite and nice– resulting in little growth on behalf of the client.  But, we don’t do this without first taking the time to think about what we are saying and how we deliver it to the patient.  This is a difficult concept to expound upon in this short blog. So I highly recommend reading further in The Core Competencies of Relational Psychoanalysis by Roy Barsnses.  

If you wish to read more about this idea, please check out The Core Competencies of Relational Psychoanalysis by Roy Barsness.