The Relaxed Therapist

Apparently innocuous comments can upset your clients. You can”t avoid triggering issues unknown to you, but you can be ready to respond if they are brought to light.

Check you have the right person before you begin your session. There is scope for confusion in busy clinics, but mistakes can occur even in otherwise empty waiting rooms.

Disclosures requiring that confidentiality be breached are rare. A little preparation should permit you to focus upon supporting your client through the process, preserving your therapeutic rapport.

Use your notepad to claim your chair before the client enters the room. If you can sit where you need to be, there will be no unease to be misinterpreted by the client.

Therapists often assure clients that the information they provide is confidential. Confidential is defined as “intended to be kept secret”. Whether the information will be kept as secret as the client (or therapist) imagines depends upon the therapist and the service.