Interview with Terapéutica en Alza: the keys to the therapeutic bond.

A team of psychologists talk to us about the typical processes of the therapist-patient relationship.

In psychotherapy, it is essential to know specific therapeutic techniques to lead patients towards improvement or recovery, but it is also necessary to master other types of skills: those that allow the psychologist to establish a correct link between the psychologist and the patient who goes to the who comes to the consultation to express his or her concerns and fears.

In fact, these kinds of skills can hardly be learned if one has not worked as a psychologist, and this kind of "training" only occurs once one has passed the university degree in psychology. So, to learn more about these therapeutic relationship-based skills, we talked to the members of the Therapeutic Psychology Center on the Rise.

Interview with Terapéutica en Alza: the importance of the therapeutic bond.

On this occasion we talked to Juan Fernández-Rodríguez Labordeta and Adrián Pino Bonachopsychologists who are part of the team of Terapéutica en Alza, a psychology center located in Zaragoza. Throughout this interview they talk to us, from their perspective as professionals, about the therapist-patient relationship.

When thinking about the meaning of going to psychotherapy, many people think that they go to the psychologist either to let off steam or to receive information about what to do. In other words, one-way processes. But the therapeutic bond is fundamental, isn't it?

The moment a person comes to talk about his or her problem, he or she needs to be and feel understood. In general, those who come to us for help are aware that they are sitting in front of a specialist, but deep down they are asking to connect, to be listened to, which is what we do from the very first moment. If we do not connect, we can hardly be therapeutic referents and the patient will not follow our indications.

What techniques does a psychologist use to make patients feel comfortable and able to talk about what really worries them or hurts them emotionally?

This part of therapy does not consist of specific techniques. Bonding requires feeling in a more human way. Therefore, it is very important how we position ourselves in the first sessions, that is, to have a receptive attitude, listen, ask questions and keep listening.

What we notice most that helps patients to express themselves is that they are not judged for what happens to them, but that they are treated and cared for. Before the first session is over, our patients have understood that we have professional and experienced knowledge about what is happening to them, and when they feel they are with the right psychologist, the bond is strengthened.

And is there a technique or set of techniques of this type that defines the way your team members work?

All our therapeutic team has studied psychology at the UNED; we are members of a professional association, we are trained in Time Limited Psychotherapy both in Madrid and in the Basque Country with their respective Masters and we have taken EMDR courses also in Madrid.

We know and use cognitive-behavioral, hypnotic, strategic and systemic therapy, reprocessing, NLP and associative techniques with a more creative character that, according to the state and needs of the patient, we apply them to improve their well-being.

And how can a psychotherapist adapt to the patient's emotional state throughout the session?

First of all, we recognize that the painful experiences we are told about in the session also make us feel. We are not oblivious to it and we take it seriously. Accepting our feelings and overcoming emotional Pain confirms to the patient that they are in good hands.

Secondly, in addition to recognizing our emotion, we learn to regulate it. This means that when faced with the unpleasant feeling, we diminish its intensity and manage it, and even when we know that it is therapeutically appropriate, we also share it to encourage reflection.

Is there a case in which someone who came to your office for professional help said out loud for the first time a problem he or she had?

One of the last people who called us this week at Terapéutica en Alza acknowledged that it was the first time she confessed to someone a problem that she was hiding from everyone and did not know where to start. This person was very relieved when she was told that she had some OCD symptoms, in this case, and that this behavior was habitual. This also made sense of what was happening to her.

We often meet people who go to a psychologist for the first time and unfortunately find it difficult to ask for help, but we are aware of how difficult it can be to open up to a stranger and we have experience in making the situation more pleasant and easier.

How can you, as professionals, empathically connect with patients, both sad and happy, and not step out of the role of a psychologist who is offering effective treatment?

Professionalism is not incompatible with closeness, especially when dealing with people. On the contrary, they add up and make the treatment more effective than if we only adopt a serious and distant posture.

We all have mirror neurons, which, as the name implies, act as mirrors that reflect the patient's emotional state. These neurons help us to understand on a more emotional level what is happening to the patient, and at the same time, the patient helps him or her to experience a possibility of change, because his or her mirror neurons also work when we manage our emotions.

In retrospect... Is there a specific case in which you have professionally assisted a patient that represents particularly well the philosophy you work with? How did it go?

In general we work well with all our patients, whoever needs help and asks for it represents our work philosophy.

To give a case, specifically of anxiety, a woman came to the consultation in full crisis for her sentimental situation that was in real trouble. In spite of her fragile and altered emotional state, we were able to stabilize her in this first meeting in order to, later and in a more receptive way, talk about what was happening and what she could do to improve her situation.

The pace of the treatment, the speed of healing was her own, and it was a slow process, but the relationship of trust and security worked as a guarantee of success for the therapy. She felt understood and knew that she did not have to make sudden changes to improve the situation, and this took the tension away. She gradually redirected her problem and came to very satisfactory terms, and is now very happy with how her life is developing. Obviously, the specifics of the case are confidential.

At Terapéutica en Alza, anxiety problems are treated in this way. We treat the link, the altered emotional state, the lived history and the specific symptoms. Only by considering the patient's entire history can we anticipate and avoid possible relapses.