The Best Counseling Session Ever: Why Talk Therapy Still Has a Place in Austin’s Mental Health Care Scene

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Talk therapy is still a legitimate form of therapy despite it being mildly frowned upon in traditional clinical settings (Levy & Ablon, 2010). When partnering with third-party payers, psychoeducation and forms of solution-focused treatments are generally expected to be implemented in order for reimbursement of services. So just what is talk therapy?

Talk Therapy (Psychotherapy)

Levy and Ablon (2010) explain psychotherapy focuses on the client’s “emotion and relationships” with emphasis on “the therap[eutic] relationship” (para. 3). This approach is long-term and more open-ended. It is also amenable to spontaneous discoveries. Psychotherapy places less emphasis on “The” treatment goal or targeted interventions. This is due to the underlying framework that a client is able to, in many cases, instinctively gravitate and “suss out” (if one will allow the phrase) their needs.

The Role of Pathology in Psychotherapy

Pathology typically is not the lens of the talk therapist. Empathy is the vantage according to Levy and Ablon (2010). The therapist’s primary objective within sessions is to gain an understanding of the client’s experiences through the lens of his or her biopsychosocial landscape. This vantage is further upstream for holistic consideration and provides a keen framework of the presenting client’s biological, psychological (emotions, thoughts, and behavior), and social factors (Marschall, 2023). If pathology does not have a distinctive role in psychotherapy, what takes precedent?

A true talk therapist allows their client to remain in the driver’s seat. It’s my experience that in general, clients need to talk. talk. talk. When one comes to counseling, they need to expel those ideas and thoughts that are shored up inside. For the examination of internal thoughts, one needs to express or externalize this.

Verbal Processing & Potential Pitfalls for Psychotherapy

Thoughts, feelings, and ideas require release to determine whether they are beneficial or detrimental. However, Lieberman (2007) directs clinicians to the value of “putting feelings into words” (p. 270). Exploratory conversations provide psychological space to lay upon the proverbial examination table the inner workings of self-dialogue, the inner critique, and negative automatic thoughts. Behavioral patterns that are creating undesirable effects for the client are ideally then provided room for improvement in a natural way.

Improvement, growth, healing, and progress can be considered as an instinctual, organic process. Verbal processing can provide perspective. The assumption required here is that verbal processing will lead to discovery and identification of defeating, disabling, or debunked thoughts. Still, talk therapy benefits don’t end there. Psychotherapy starts here! Where’s there? You may ask. Good question!

Psychotherapy’s “gold” requires an ability and willingness to engage with any admitted falacies within one’s thought(s), perspective(s), and beliefs. One cannot change what one does not acknowledge. The scope of this article is on how talk therapy can be beneficial, therefore further time and topic are needed to explore potential pitfalls of psychotherapy.

Effective Ways for Clients to Use Talk Therapy

When your therapist and you elect to utilize psychotherapy as the modality for sessions, try the following suggestions to maximize the outcome and value of talk therapy.

• Ask yourself, why is this important to me (for topics within therapy)
• Ask for feedback
• Repeat yourself as needed for clarity
• Wait for summaries (“What did you hear?” can be a helpful prompt.)

Talk Therapy Still Has Value for Central Texas Counselors

Recently, I enjoyed one of my top five counseling sessions with a client experiencing a plateau in attaining their personal goals. Their therapy goal was increased motivation and improved success towards personal health goals. Our relaxed, open-ended (client-directed) talk therapy approach to our use of counseling time was rewarded one day. After no less than three months of bi-weekly sessions, the talk therapy yielded enough puzzle pieces.

Psychotherapy allowed the client to lay out a life timeline, the characters, and the interpretations of interactions with each character. Ultimately, there was a connection of his experience with Family of Origin (FOO) dysfunction to a specific perspective that was playing out in reduced motivation and premature yielding of success.

It was a real lightbulb moment for my client. They hadn’t been able to connect their behavior (related to motivation and progress or lack-of-progress toward’s personal health goals) with FOO dysfunction.

Talk Therapy Produced My Favorite Counseling Experiences

Talk therapy yielded one of my best counseling experiences as a counselor. To watch a client discover what felt like a win for them was rewarding. Time can yield benefits that limited counseling will never allow for. When you have the opportunity to engage in talk therapy with a well-suited counselor, say yes.

Looking for a Psychotherapist?

Determine the qualities and attributes you would like to have in your counselor. Are you interested in someone with scheduling flexibility? Is it important to you that your counselor have a specific certification? Would you rather your counselor is able to listen attentively or help redirect unhelpful thought patterns? What if you want them to be able to do both?

Joyful Journeys Counseling offers quality mental health professionals to Central Texas. Contact us today for a free consultation to determine if we are a good fit for your counseling needs.

Sources

National Institute of Mental Health. (2024, February). Psychotherapies: What is Psychotherapy? U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/psychotherapies

Opland C., Torrico T. J. (2024, October). Psychotherapy and Therapeutic Relationship. StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK608012/

Levy, R. A., & Ablon, J. S. (2010, February). Talk Therapy: Off the Couch and into the Lab. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/talk-therapy-off-couch-into-lab/

Lieberman, M. D. (2007). Social cognitive neuroscience: A review of core processes. Annual Review of Psychology, Vol.(58), 259-289. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085654

Marschall, A. (2023, July 16). Understanding the Biopsychosocial Model of Health and Wellness: A holistic approach to well-being. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/understanding-the-biopsychosocial-model-7549226