At the 5th International Experiential Dynamic Therapy Association Conference (IEDTA) in Vancouver, B.C., I found Dr. Patricia Coughlin’s comments fascinating regarding the correlation of therapist attributes with successful treatment, possibly more significant than the approach being applied! Findings show that these attributes are found in 10-20% of therapists, and she plans to write about this in her upcoming book. These qualities include being passionate and engaged, flexible, humble, approachable, confident, and courageous. These therapists are lifelong learners open to feedback who push themselves and their patients to get the best results possible. I’m eager to hear more about this in her upcoming book! It makes much sense to me that the therapist qualities noted above would enhance results. I also commented at the conference that the work we were viewing showing depth emotion processing leading to relief from trauma seemed to additionally require a highly effective skill set, but this of course is developed through being “lifelong learners open to feedback.”

The quality of courage struck a chord because facing my fears has been necessary to any success I’ve had with Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy. I’m thinking of those times when I was on the verge of backing off a piece of defense work or making an observation that would raise the patient’s anxiety or resistance, when with perseverance, something profound opened up for the patient! Do we not all know what it is to stay in a safe zone versus making a difficult intervention that requires more of us and carries no guarantee?

I developed a teaching section on “The Warrior Therapist” when I presented at the Washington School of Psychiatry Fourth Annual Summer School in 2009, referring to the ways therapists sometimes have to gird themselves when helping patients to access intensely painful feelings… so that we can stay present… and not run away… and persist with that next intervention that we believe, to the best of our knowledge, will help the patient.  Special thanks to Leigh McCullough, Ph.D., who raised my awareness of widespread affect phobia. Josette ten Have-de Labije, PsyD, made some great comments in her “Letter from the Editor” in the next Ad Hoc on the perceived “tragedy of failure” that can deprive us of learning opportunities. Cannot our own resistance be as formidable as that of our patient’s?

This blog is meant to encourage us all! I welcome your comments.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 23rd, 2010 at 4:47 pm and is filed under Treatment Process. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.