Relatable Psychotherapy Memes
Around the end of October/beginning of November, I start reminding my clients to start taking their Vitamin D supplements, because
Winter Blues are coming
Despite the preparation, we are destined to feel some dip in our mood during dark winter days. Seasonal Affective Disorder is real, folks! To lighten our spirits, I thought it would be fun to indulge in a little humour this week and search up some very relatable therapy memes. Hope you enjoy these as much as I did!
I'm not sure if it's a generational thing or if it's due to being in an era where the Internet governs our lives, but not only do my young(ish) clients refer to how they feel using memes, but I relate back with memes too. It is a great way to connect, accurately describe your feelings, enhance my understanding, and adds a little humour to the session. By the way, clients don't actually tag me in memes.
This is a huge starter pack, but very accurate. I can recognize when my client is uncomfortable opening up when I start to feel like we're in an interview and I'm doing all the asking. Time goes by super super slow and I can tell that he/she is noticing it too. I also hear a lot of "I don't know"
WHAT DO I DO WITH THIS STATEMENT?!
Silence is something I had to learn to get over in grad school. My supervisor's only advice was to get comfortable in silence because, we may not know it, but therapy can also happen in silence. Clients are processing thoughts, evaluating you, testing your own commitment to the session, and deciding what to talk about. I am relieved when the silence is broken after stumbling upon a topic that really gets the client going. I got my in!
This one made me LOL because of how true this is. I do catch myself asking each of my clients how its been going and more times than not I get the usual *sigh* before they unload a weeks worth of stress. HOWEVER, when I ask, I ask with optimism. I ask with the hope that you actually had a great week and you're about to share your wins. I ask wanting to hear, "I had a great week! So much has happened, I can't wait to tell you". This too, also happens.
Fun fact: In grad school, I solemnly swore that I would not be that therapist -the one that fed into the stereotype of everyone's impression of therapy. Well, I failed. I use this phrase daily. I try to switch it up and use variations of the phrase "How are you feeling about..." or "I wonder how that feels..." but it's almost easier to ask my clients directly about how they're feeling. How do you have therapy without talking about how you're feeling?!
I once had a client walk in and look around the office while he had plastered a confused look on his face. When I asked what he was looking for, he said he expected there to be a couch in here. He was relieved to know that there was no couch for him to lay down in, stare at the ceiling, and talk about his feelings while I wrote on a note pad. Every therapist is different, however, some prefer the couch.
I can't count the number of times clients have asked me what to do. My role as a therapist is to not give you advice, but to help you create autonomy and confidence in your decision making skills. I am helpful in playing devils advocate, challenging your thoughts, playing out different scenarios, reminding you of your strengths, and igniting some creativity. The ultimate decision rests on your shoulders. By the way, we don't have all the answers. Even if you ask, I may not even have an answer for you. I'm just as confused as you!
Ps. "What do you think you should do?" is straight out of our textbooks.