Therapists Really Can Get Better Over Time

Whew! We have probably all been a bit dismayed by the statistic that early career therapists are just as likely to be successful in conducting psychotherapy as experienced ones. I attended a session at SEPI’s Annual Meeting in Malibu last week, given by Barbara L. Vivino, Barbara J. Thompson, and Stephen Bacon, on “The Wisdom of Experienced Therapists.” The answer was simple. The statistics are right, but represent two groups who cancel each other out. One are therapists who grind through the same old procedures without learning much. They eventually burn out which causes them to be less effective. That drags down the overall result. On the other hand those who keep gaining wisdom indeed do get better(and because you are reading this, you know you are in that group!

I know I’m a better therapist now than ever. The work I do is increasingly influenced by understanding the underlying mechanisms, especially memory reconsolidation. It isn’t magic and change often happens by small increments, but it works, and I keep learning more about how the inner mind sees the world and tries to protect us. Above all, I am learning about how to deliver disconfirming information in ways that are truly compelling to the inner mind’s watchful censors and skeptical protectors.

This Wednesday, I’m leaving for Europe for 2 1/2 months. I’ll be on vacation for the second, third, and fourth weeks in July, but active for the rest of the time. I may slow down a bit in posting, but I’m continuing with podcast guesting and preparing for my book launch on August 24th. A goal I’m still pondering is how to build a community beyond myself to help others learn about the infrastructure of all therapies. It might begin with the existing group of supporting subscribers. I’m open to ideas! Would you like a series of posts on how to prevent early dropout? Are there other topics that would be valuable?

Yours, Jeffery