Gentle Invitations for Between-Session Care

The therapeutic hour is a set aside time for a client to explore target concerns, traumas, stressors, and life burdens with the help of a compassionate guide. And although so much of the tangled ball of yarn is unraveled in psychotherapy, one hour a week is insufficient time to really see issues through to resolution. Much of the healing process actually happens outside of the therapy space. Because there is more time spent outside of session than in, it is very important to have practices in place that 1) encourage continued healing 2) help to maintain what was acquired in session and 3) help to prepare you for your next session.

Furthermore, the goal of effective therapy is not to weaken a client’s capacity to care for themselves, the goal is to strengthen this capacity, so that eventually the client can either reduce the frequency of therapy or successfully terminate treatment altogether.

Clients who are able to transfer what is learned in the therapy hour to their day-to-day tend to have reduced symptoms or symptom cessation, fewer relapses, improved boundaries, wider windows of tolerance, emotional regulation, and more harmony and resolution than those who only “do the work” in the therapy session.

In this blog, I intentionally use the word “invitation” as the noun of choice for a few reasons 1) healing is all about choice, and you have a choice to accept the invitation or not 2) when you receive an invitation, it is usually from someone who wants you to be a part of an experience, and both Holy Spirit and I want you to step into healing 3) the language is gentle and more suitable for those who are driven by “shoulds” and rules that don’t make sense.

Here are a few gentle practices or invitations that you can consider accepting in-between sessions to improve your therapy outcomes:

Invitations for Transformation

• The invitation to container your work and stay present with your daily life activities

• The invitation to complete any therapeutic homework discussed in session

• The invitation to reframe a limiting thought or belief

• The invitation to grieve with intention

• The invitation to act on one decision

• The invitation to rest (from work, striving, projects, and even self-improvement)

• The invitation to have that conversation you have been putting off

• The invitation to own where you are hurting others, violating others’ boundaries or committing offenses against others

• The invitation to apologize, repair or repent

• The invitation to face your inner shadow in place of ruminating about the shadows of others

• The invitation to get to know your inner child and care for her/his needs

• The invitation to shake/wiggle/release pent up stress

• The invitation to hold/hug yourself or press an area that is constricted

• The invitation to imagine positive resources and outcomes

• The invitation to solve a problem from your adult self or Spirit-led self instead of from a child place or part

• The invitation to say no

• The invitation to notice and name an emotion without judgement

• The invitation to bless something that is good, and call something ‘evil’ that is evil

• The invitation to come out of agreement with a lie or vow

• The invitation to engage in several cycles of belly breaths

• The invitation to feel your feelings instead of using a substance, scrolling, shopping, or eating

• The invitation to declutter and organize 1 space or area

• The invitation to ask for help

• The invitation to break up with that “person” (you know who that person is)

• The invitation to shed your armor and allow yourself to be vulnerable

• The invitation to smile, dance, play, celebrate, be in awe of something in the midst of suffering

As you can see, there is plenty of transformation that can happen in-between sessions, and this not an exhaustive list. What are some other ways that you can engage with your process once you log off the Telehealth video or leave the counselor’s office?

Practice

Visit this list often and choose 1-2 invitations you will except leading up to your next therapy visit

I accept the invitation to __________________________.

Shalom,