Embracing Your Personal Process in Therapy

What it means to be 'in process'

Therapy is a journey of self-discovery where you are the expert of you and your process becomes your map and guides your growth. Perhaps you are reading this and thinking you don't feel like an expert of yourself right now? You may also be wanting other people to fix it or make it better for you, and these are all natural places to be coming from when beginning therapy. I recognise that the idea of owning your own process and reclaiming your journey can feel daunting, and it is also exactly where the journey of exploration starts.

Many people understand therapy to be a process that allows individuals to explore their thoughts, emotions, and experiences in a safe and supportive environment. However, within this, something which is less widely acknowledged is the importance and value of embracing your personal 'process' and allowing yourself to experience what you are experiencing with self-awareness. Your process is yours and as a therapist my part is to validate you in your experiences and reflect these back to you, rather than to attempt to diagnose or direct your process in any way.

Your personal process

Being with your personal 'process' in therapy means being present in the moment and fully engaging with whatever is showing up for you; thoughts, feelings, body sensations, memories etc.. It asks you to acknowledge and accept everything that arises for you, even if what shows up might feel like resistance, or "I don't know," or blame/ projection onto an external source. The key is to continue being with that; make nothing 'wrong', even when confronting, uncomfortable or difficult to validate as true for you in the moment. The more you can allow yourself to engage in this way, the more you open yourself to the insights and learnings that come to surface through this self-exploration.

One of the most empowering takeaways from your personal development journey is the realisation that you can have agency in how you relate in life. This comes out of being in process with all that arises for you and witnessing it rather than judging it, and creating space to choose your responses in life.

Your process is your map

Allowing yourself to experience what you are experiencing with self-awareness is what creates space for growth and transformation. It is through this self-exploration that you can connect in with underlying core beliefs, fears, and patterns that may be holding you back. By shining a light on these aspects of yourself, you can begin to notice past conditioning and hard wired ways of being that once intelligently served you, and may now be limiting you in living your potential.

This level of self-awareness allows you to make conscious choices for your present experiences rather than operating from the past, as well as taking intentional actions that align with how you would prefer to be experiencing life. You become responsible on a whole new level, and liberated from needing external factors to change in order to feel how you would prefer to feel.

Embracing your personal process is also about cultivating patience and Self- compassion, and being mindful that growth is not a linear journey, and being open to let it unfold in its own time on its own terms. There may be times it feels hard to trust the journey and by allowing yourself to fully experience and accept these fluctuations, you are working through the material that needs to be worked through, and you will begin to trust your timing and deepen your connection with yourself.

Where next?

Your personal process in therapy is a powerful and transformative experience, and one I always feel is a privilege to be witness to as your therapist. If what you have read here has spoken to you and you would like to find out about how you can work with me and begin your own journey of self-discovery, there are two things you can do. Firstly, I invite you to click the link below to get more of an idea of what having therapy sessions with me involves, then secondly, if you like what you read and/or have further questions, head over to the 'connect' page to book in a free 15 minute call with me where you can ask your questions and find out what you want to know.