Don't be afraid to give clients the steering wheel

Hello Future Nation,

I'm excited to announce we have a guest post from a fellow DP blogger from Australia! I'll let him introduce himself.

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Thank you, Jordan, for asking me to create a guest post for your blog.

Your posts following your DP journey are fantastic, your write up on ‘what actually makes therapy work?’ is one of my favourite all time blog entries. So I’m absolutely chuffed that you have invited me to join the party. More about me though for your readers – My name is Jimeoin Murphy, I’m a Psychologist based in Sydney Australia. I’ve been writing a blog following my own DP journey since June 2021. If you like this post you’re welcome to head on over, to check out my other posts and even subscribe for future posts if you like.

Enjoy!

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In this post I'm going to talk about some reflections I've had on giving client's more control of their therapy. I'll also share 3 scenarios on how I have changed my therapy approach to better align with my client's needs and wants.

Lately I've been compelled by a realisation that giving clients control of their therapy may be the most powerful thing I can do for them. In my experience, giving clients control leads them to a sense of freedom, freedom leads to hope and hope leads to change.

Giving up control is hard to do, I've wrestled with a fear that if I give client's control, they will sink deeper into their problems without realising it; because I didn't take control they will see me as an ineffective and unhelpful therapist - a burden. That fear can be a powerful motivator for me to stay in contro