The Benefits of Unpacking Your Heart in Therapy
For months, before I opened my private practice, I contemplated what I should name it. I wanted a name that encompassed what my work with clients would look like, while also highlighting the journey and benefits of being authentic and vulnerable in therapy. While I was driving home from the group practice I used to work for, the song “Unpack Your Heart” by Phillip Phillips came on. Here is the chorus, which resonated with me, as this describes my therapeutic work with my clients:
Bring your secrets, bring your scars
Bring your glory, all you are
Bring your daylight, bring your dark
Share your silence and unpack your heart
To me, unpacking hearts involves bringing all of you to therapy. In order for my clients to gain insight about their patterns in relationships, their go-to coping mechanisms and their ways of being, it is my priority to develop a safe and non-judgmental space that allows for trust to develop. Once our rapport is established, you can expect to evolve and see growth in the following ways:
Emotional Support and Validation
The therapeutic relationship is very unique in that it is a space for 50 minutes where the focus is on you. For the “people-pleasers,” this is such a critical part of growth because when you have not prioritized your needs in the past, it may be difficult to even know what your emotional needs are! Therapy is a space where you will receive emotional support while also empathic confrontation to grow and lead your most fulfilling life.
Enhanced Self-Awareness
In therapy with me, you will gain insight not only on what your patterns are but why/where these patterns stem from. Therapy is a place to understand the root of many of our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Oftentimes, our family dynamics growing up as well as previous traumas can impact the way that we see ourselves, others and the world. We will begin to process these experiences to understand how to move forward in healthy and secure relationships with others.
Healthier Relationships
The therapeutic relationship oftentimes will serve as a model for how to relate to others in your life. Through vulnerability and authenticity, I will help you gain insight on your relational patterns and will oftentimes provide empathic confrontation about how your behaviors may be perceived by others. My hope is that our relationship will serve as a corrective experience from previous relational traumas that you have had to increase your sense of self-worth and confidence in your relationships outside of our sessions.
Learning Effective Coping Strategies
Through our work together, we will dive into ways to navigate feelings of anxiety and discomfort with change. Whether this is through journaling, building social support, vocalizing your needs or engaging in a new hobby/passion, it is important to find ways to navigate daily stressors in an effective and constructive way.
