The importance of the psychotherapist’s role as a trainer

Part of the therapist's tasks involves adopting the role of trainer in front of patients.

The subject of this article is very specific: the need for every psychotherapist to be a good trainer..

As is well known, there are several functions that a psychotherapist performs during a therapy process: creation of a healthy and secure relationship, continuous improvement of the channels of communication with the client, discovery of behavioral patterns, provision of the necessary quantity and quality of feedback?

The truth is that the elaboration of all these functions is done together with the client and it is not usually necessary to do it in a hidden way: ideally, everything should be done in a conscious and, as far as possible, pleasant way.

Building a healthy and productive relationship takes time and a lot of attention.It is always subject to adjustments and changes, depending on the progress and improvements made in the process.

We could say that any therapeutic process carried out in a serious and professional manner, is a "tailor-made suit" that adapts that adapts to the client to perfection, allowing to optimize the use of all available resources.

But there is one element that is not often given due attention: the role of the therapist as a trainer.

Training in psychotherapy

It is essential that every psychotherapy professional be a capable and effective trainer.

One of the phrases most often heard, especially during the early days of the therapeutic process is: "I don't know what's wrong with me".. When the patient comes for consultation, he/she usually has a series of thoughts, sensations and feelings that he/she does not fully understand. Evidently, he has tried to find an explanation for them, but he has not been able to do so satisfactorily. He realizes that all these experiences are harming him in his daily life.

And this is where the psychotherapist's work as a trainer begins. In addition to all the functions that we have mentioned and many more, this professional must be able to create a solvent and realistic, effective and practical account of the client's situation.. And he or she must be able to transmit it to the client.

Therefore, a good psychotherapist must have experience, a great capacity for real listening, a remarkable ability to discover patterns and a great deal of prior knowledge. Not to mention an enormous capacity to respond to unforeseen situations, which will always arise.(let's not forget that psychotherapy is aimed at life, which is an ever-changing process).

Beyond theoretical knowledge

It is not enough to have a broad knowledge of psychopathology and the most frequent problems that affect people's lives. It is necessary to be able to use tools such as active listening, storytelling, the creation and application of metaphors, the creative use of humor....

In addition to that, you need to have a large bank of scientific information, in order to be able to recommend videos, articles or books to clients, according to their needs and their capabilities.

You also need to know stories, thousands of them. Some of them will be real, others not, in order to be able to offer models in which the customer can see himself reflected. Stories in which it is also easy to see how they have been solved. And these stories have to cover many registers, since it is not the same to talk to a person in love with books, a movie buff or someone who is only interested in political news, for example.

Establishing a common language

On the other hand, it is very important to the creation of a common language. This is an element that is often ignored, but which is of utmost importance: it is not the same to talk to a computer engineer as to a health worker, to a fervent Catholic or to a convinced atheist. The whole therapeutic relationship is based on this common language, which will be created according to the particularities of the client rather than those of the therapist.

One of the most interesting resources for finding a common language is to use hobbies as common ground. For example, a person who is fond of gardening can be told about "pruning useless thoughts", "fertilizing parts of life with a good attitude", "burning the stubble of rancor", etc.

By way of conclusion...

If we put together all the elements I have just mentioned (and many more that I will not comment on for lack of space), we can see that it is fundamental for a therapist to be a first-rate pedagogue. Because an important part of their functions is to create an operative work structure and to know how to transmit it, to offer their client a realistic story that allows them to face and overcome their situation and to transmit in the most effective way possible the most relevant knowledge and techniques for the life of that person who has trusted the therapist.

In addition, it should explain how to apply knowledge and techniques in daily life, since above all, we are looking for understanding and effectiveness, i.e. changes for the better.

As you can see, the training of the psychotherapist is a never-ending process, in which one can always learn more and more. It is a never-ending learning process that is joyful for those of us who are in love with this art. for those of us who are in love with this art-science as difficult and beautiful as psychotherapy.