Core Prinicples of Psychotherapy
When a someone else is willing and able to feel what you feel, the weight of aloneness is lifted.
To help people deal with a wide range of issues, the field of psychotherapy has developed many different theoretical orientations. This array can be confusing to anyone who has not studied psychology in depth. Below, we describe the basic principles that underlie all our therapy at Shine a Light. Learn more about different approaches to therapy.
People are Inherently Good
With this premise, our therapists choose to identify each person as the part of themself that is trying to do their best, seek win-win solutions, and live gracefully in a sometimes difficult world. Despite any dysfunctional patterns we may have picked up along the way, it is this goodness inside that remains who we really are at our core. Any way in which we have hurt others, hurt ourselves, or shrunken from our
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potential can be understood as coming from some way in which we ourselves have been hurt, neglected, or suffered. As we heal ourselves we increase our ability to drop dysfunctional patterns and let our good intention manifest more clearly.
Every person is the Ultimate Authority on Their Own Experience
Each person has an inner voice that speaks his or her truth. Others (therapists, for instance) may have hunches about what is true for you, but only you can decide if their theories fit your experience.
When therapists become attached to their theories they may push them in a way that increases a client’s experience of distress. Alternatively, when a therapist keeps sincerely trying to understand a client as a unique individual, the client is free to continue the healing process of self-discovery.
Personal Growth Includes both Empowerment and Self-Acceptance
There are two main branches of personal growth. One heightens our sense of empowerment. Through self-reflection and insight we are better able to seize the power we have to make new choices and transform our lives. At the same time, however, the other branch reminds us that who we are is already beautiful and whole. While part of our nature always seeks growth, one aspect of that growth is fully appreciating ourselves just as we are now.
We all have a Natural Emotional Healing Process
We were born with the innate ability to heal our hurts and traumas. This process involves feeling our emotions, expressing them to someone who can listen and provide empathic understanding. When these conditions are present, we are safe to discharge the buried emotional baggage that has been weighing us down.
Reality is in the Present Moment
Each moment offers a fresh look at how we feel and what meanings we are creating out of our circumstances. Understanding our past can be helpful in identifying the nature of the dysfunctional patterns that still affect us. But it is the stories about our past that we continue to tell ourselves in the present that most affect how we currently feel. By becoming mindful of our present experience we can best identify what choices might help us improve our lives.
The Mind and Body are Connected
Emotions are a combination of body sensation and mental interpretation. Understanding our emotions, therefore, requires both paying attention to our awareness of our bodies and to the meanings our mind creates for us. Slowing down helps us focus this awareness. Therapists help by encouraging clients both to really feel their bodies, and to carefully track the thought processes that result in distress.
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