We were busy with a supervision class - to keep ourselves up to date with new developments, and to continue to improve as therapists.
Part of the class involved a role play, which had me on my toes because the content under discussion was completely "black and white" to me... and yet, it seemed that everyone else seemed to be on the side of the "patient" - the person I thought was completely wrong!
Of course, I was sure that, in this case, it would have been wise to set the patient right - I mean, there are some situations in which they need to know what is and is not done! After a week of thinking about the particular scenario, I have finally come to the conclusion - yet again - that therapy is more about process and less about content. Process is all about how you feel, how the patient feels, what is going on (non-verbally) in the room. If there is any discomfort - on either side - perhaps one needs to look again at the way things are going. Of course, in the Narrative way of doing things, the therapist frequently asks the client if he/she is happy with the next step, or the way things are going. If the client feels uncomfortable for any reason, the therapist tries to make the step less threatening, so that they can move on with the minimum of discomfort. Content, of course, is what is being said. Be careful, continually, of getting stuck in the trap of thinking that the content of your discussion is more important than how the patient is perceiving the process. It never is. Long after the session, the patient, or client, will remember the comfort or discomfort they felt, but the content - and what exactly they decide to take home with them, will always remain a mystery to you. The things you consider extremely important are often not even considered, and yet, something said "by the way" often has a profound effect on the client. Think about it.
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