2 Things My Counselor Would Have Done Differently

 

Some time after my counseling with my therapist David Gatewood ended, we moved into a season of friendship and mentoring. I remember spending a day with him when he was participating in a radio program. On the way to the studio I asked him what he would do differently after having founded the counseling center and trained so many therapists.

He had two main points that he shared with me. To me they were somewhat surprising, but I took them as sage advice. At this point in my life I was definitely in a student mindset, not realizing I would become a care provider in the future.

So what would David would have changed?

1. He would not let his clients take their identity from their pathology.

We are first children of God, made in His image. I have struggles. Perhaps you have struggles. We are not our depression or anxiety or whatever. He said labeling will fix our identity in the wrong thing. It may seem like a subtle difference, but when I say I struggle with depression vs. I am depressed, I am expressing the process I am in to reach a healthier state. He said that labeling keeps our eyes fixed on what may feel shameful rather than on Christ who has the power to deliver us from all of our afflictions.

2. He would not allow most of his clients to stay in therapy as long.

This point is somewhat related to the above point. The longer we stay in counseling, the more likely we are to over identify with our pathology. He said he had shifted his thinking toward hope-focused language. He believed it would move clients along quicker. One thing he did with me which made all the difference was describing the person he saw I was designed to be, and was becoming. It was like painting a picture of a house that was being built that I was going to move into when I was ready. We did not primarily focus on the broken down shack that I was living in that was constructed of the inferior materials contributed by my family and me. Rather, he was telling me about the dwelling place that God intended for me to occupy.

What gets in the way?

Although confrontation is a necessary skill for counseling in many situations, it’s usually unpleasant –and most counselors (and pastors) tend to be people pleasers. Pleaser personalities can be viewed as having either a positive or negative effect. They can be peacemakers, but they can also tend to avoid hard confrontations. I believe it might be one of the reasons that therapy stretches on so long in some cases.

Another reason may be that the goal of the client might be to feel better, but not to get better and an unhealthy dependency has formed with their counselor. This is not always the case, however. Sometimes there is a legitimate need to have lengthy support, especially during long term crises situations. One client I had was dying of cancer and we stayed connected until the end.

Good therapy is informed by science, but it is an art form. There are many effective approaches, different counseling styles, and various therapeutic interventions. But all research agrees that a strong relationship between the counselor and the client is a core and essential requirement. David has been gone now for a couple of decades, but I’m forever grateful that I had that with him.