Psychotherapy and Consciousness - Written By Therapist, Brad Shore.

Read about how psychotherapy and consciousness correlate, differentiate and how we can combine the two in our lives through therapy.

So there’s consciousness, and then there’s psychotherapy……is there a difference? Can someone do both? The answer is yes and YES! Going to see a therapist is a process where one looks inward, usually delving into underlying feelings and processing those feelings verbally, out loud, with their shrink. Why is this helpful? Well, for several reasons.

Some people, especially those with traumatic childhoods, aren’t used to hearing themselves talk out loud. Talking helps! They may not even know there’s a ‘self’ there, and one way into the ‘self’ is to process our feelings and do this verbally with another person. In therapy, we process our feelings and our thoughts; in fact, some therapeutic approaches, such as C.B.T. (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), focus entirely on paying attention to what our thoughts are. So, in therapy, you’ll see a ‘digging’ process occur, where the client is seeking out underlying feelings and integrating them into who they currently are---the ‘whole’ person. The goal is the integration---when people compartmentalise, or minimise their thoughts and feelings, emotional disturbances can occur. Have you ever had a panic attack? Or a sudden uncontrollable fear? Or perhaps developed a ‘phobia’ out of the blue? Chances are, even though these symptoms may seem ‘random’, they’re not random at all. When we repress, deny, minimise, ignore, deny (use any word you want!) our feelings find a way to come back and haunt us. Unfortunately, repressed feelings don’t just magically disappear, (I wish they did), but they need to be processed; and when done so with a therapist, true understanding and healing can occur.

Consciousness (or mindfulness) on the other hand, is awareness; the awareness by itself of the mind and the world. WOW. Take a moment to think about that. That’s pretty heavy. Once people reach that state, they operate from that state the majority of the time- a state known as ‘enlightenment’. Once achieved, it’s magical. It’s seeing the world and your life in a very different, new way. It can be life-changing, and great past spiritual leaders such as Jesus Christ, or Buddha, or current spiritual leaders such as Eckhart Tolle, talk at length about this. It doesn’t mean you don’t have problems or issues in your life- in fact, quite the opposite. It simply means that your emotional reactions aren’t at the mercy of what’s happening around you in your life, but you yourself are instead determining what your reactions will be. Think about it - you’re in the driver’s seat - no matter what happens to you or around you, you’re the one in charge of your own reaction. This can bring great peace to one’s life. So, the best combination of two worlds is to bring Consciousness to your therapeutic work. Therapy may involve delving into our thoughts (and feelings as well), while Consciousness is the ‘observer’ paying attention to those thoughts as they arise - sort of like soap bubbles floating in the air. It may sound a bit complicated at first, but once we get the hang of paying attention to our thoughts, through Consciousness, we can actually easily dismiss the thoughts we don’t need or want and operate more of our busy lives in a state of awareness, instead of being trapped in obsessive, miserable thought. Think about it…..or should I say, be AWARE of it!

Brad Shore

License Marriage & Family Therapist

Long Beach, CA, USA

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/brad-shore-long-beach-ca/80671?utm_source=TDE&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=TD_SHS_1