Mistakes Your Therapist is Making

Many therapists begin a session with “how was your week?”  

The typical response from a teen is “ok” or “fine” with a shrug. 

Teens often don’t know how to articulate what they are struggling with, so my next response, said with a smile is: “This is not a social question. What has happened this week that you wish could have played out differently?  Maybe it can next time. Let’s work together to find a solution.”

The focus here is not on the misery, but on the resolution so they don’t stay stuck. 

At Mindful Healing, we know how to do it differently.

First we analyze the behaviors that get in the way of living your best life.

Since teens do well with structure, we even use an app so they can track their behaviors  daily for real data.

Once we identify what behaviors are interfering with their goals, we work on solutions to shift their pattern.

How do we do this?

By learning different behaviors that are then activated right in session so that we’re sure they know exactly what to do.

We model it, show examples of it, offer feedback and coaching to improve it in real time.

We even make a plan to utilize every day and troubleshoot what has/will get in the way of using it effectively.

Our goal is for our teens to be able to say, “we didn’t just talk about my problems, we actually came up with a way to handle them. I have a therapist who can give me the tools to make my life better!”

At Mindful Healing, we believe in doing the work by walking the talk!