What Is Psychotherapy?
“Psychotherapy addresses personal difficulties. It allows an individual, a family, a couple, to talk openly and confidentially about their concerns and feelings with a trained professional. Almost all types of psychotherapy involve developing a therapeutic relationship, communicating and creating a dialogue and working to overcome problematic thoughts or behaviors.” (Ontario Society of Psychotherapists)
What Is Relational Psychotherapy?
In relational psychotherapy, the relationship between you and the therapist is very important. It is one that is empathic and non-judgemental. Within the safety of this new relationship with the therapist, you may examine other relationships you’re having and have had in the past, and you will hopefully feel supported to begin to feel and understand yourself in relation to those other relationships in your life.
What Is A Psychotherapist?
“A psychotherapist is a professional who works with people when they are finding themselves in trouble emotionally: trouble with their inner world of emotions, thoughts, or moods and often related trouble with their outer world of social activity, work, and family relationships.
A psychotherapist develops a formal or informal contract to work with a person, couple or family on these kinds of troubles and enters into a helping relationship with them in which boundaries and mutual expectations are clear. Usually that relationship continues as a series of regular meetings over a period of time, short-term or long-term.” (Pat De Young, M.S.W. Ph. D.)
What Is A Relational Psychotherapist?
A relational psychotherapist is non judgemental and empathic. The safe, trusting, non- judgemental space that is created by the therapist will help you to feel validated and supported in whatever you’re going through and bringing to therapy.
This sense of support and validation, allows you to look at other relationships you have had and are having in your life. A relational psychotherapist will be curious about how you feel and have felt in those relationships and together you may discover more about yourself and your feelings. Together you may name some of the emotions that may arise when talking about and examining those relationships.
With the guidance of the therapist, you may be able to examine patterns of your own behaviour that you may hold. Slowly you may start to have a different sense of self; more grounded, empowered, individuated; hopefully feel lighter and start to have a different relationship with yourself and then feel different in relation to others and the world.