Each year we open submissions for our Annual Wise Therapy Spotlight, where we ask a question of particular importance to our wider therapist community. We are always moved by the depth and generosity of our community voices.
This year, we asked our community, What Is the Soul of Therapy? Read more about our inspiration for this, our 5th edition, in the letter from the editors and Academy of Therapy Wisdom founders, Brian and Ian.
Continue here to read the submission by Kassia Davies Decker, LCPC, LMHC, RYT (200 hour). We hope you enjoy it as much as we all did.
What is the Soul of Therapy?
The “what” of the question prompts specificity, but the essence of a process involving art and science melded with the need for a strong relational connection, is far from specific. The therapeutic process is as varied as the individuals who seek it and the providers who guide them toward their healing goals. The core of the process lies within the issue that brings the client into the therapeutic room and the objectives they wish to achieve when they walk out. The power of the partnership formed within the inherent confidentiality and confines of a professional yet private relationship adds additional complications. Despite these variations, the soul of therapy remains the same.
As therapists, we support the person just as they arrive, what they come with, and within the current chapter of their journey. We aim for the release and relief from their symptoms, a resuming of engagement and enjoyment in life, and a resurgence of skills and understanding to carry with them beyond our seemingly short sessions. Our process has become a combination of researched-backed approaches and the routine of the process, including background, assessment, and goals for our time together, woven together in a strong therapeutic bond.
Beyond the surface of our sessions is the heart of our interventions. Irrespective of which therapeutic approach we practice, we seek to find the source of our ills and, ironically, the innate storage container of our healing potential. The soul of therapy is not found in well-told narratives or the nagging annoyances in daily life. Our support surrounding the stuff said in sessions is just the surface; the shell of their stories and series of symptoms is secondary.
The soul of therapy lies deeply and quietly within the search to find the root of the issue.
Synonymous with the essence of any soul – it is found within the heart. We use the science and art of the therapeutic process to find the heart of the issue within the client we see before us. Anger, attachment, or abandonment often mark the exact location of the heartache or mask itself in perfectionistic, avoidant, or controlling behaviors. The internal adventure requires emotional excavation and exploration to determine the primary causes and reason for the series of secondary signs stopping them from living their life to their fullest. It requires the client’s full participation to traverse their inner terrain. Only they can discover their truth, exposing true treasures within. We are guides, supports, and facilitators. We are counsel, not coaches or providers of advice. Our unique therapeutic practice allows a safe space for the process of hearing what wants to unfold.
Whether it is top-down through CBT, a bottom-up somatic approach, or a combination of both, the method we meander is more of a personal and professional preference. Evidence-based techniques provide us with various pathways towards the same goal of reaching the soul of the therapeutic process; the exact source of science is simply a means of making space.
Seeking the soul of therapy involves guiding the client toward what motivated them to seek you out and what is starting to speak deep within instead of saying it through symptoms. The symptoms are simply signposts leading us to the speaking of their spirit and, ultimately, the soul of the therapeutic process. As clinicians, we support our clients in uncovering the clues. When the soma is not speaking so loudly, a moment to hear our inner self can emerge. The noise of the outside world and the cry of somatic symptoms can lessen enough to listen to the small voice within that calls for a surrender to the soul. With a stop to its previous silence, it can start to speak again with an initial timid tone. Tuned into their current time frame, listening to themselves more and their symptoms less, their sense of self becomes more substantial, illuminating what is intrinsically true.
The therapeutic process provides a map and guide as clients’ souls begin to shine through. We provide guidance surrounding the signs as clients search for a way back to the stations of their souls. The essence of therapy is to allow the human before us to return to who they are, at their core. When their symptoms have subsided, they can internally hear more clearly. They can trust their spirit’s speech as they continue to listen and adopt a deep comfort in attending. As clinicians, we support the search by guiding and facilitating the client in hearing what the spirit within wishes to speak. The goal is for them to continue to find their way back to their source independently. The true therapeutic treasure is discovering the inner truth and, ultimately, uncovering the soul of therapy.
The views expressed in this essay are not necessarily the opinions of Academy of Therapy Wisdom, its presenters or its staff. This is part of a series featuring the unedited voices of our community in conversation. All content is used with permission and is copyright 2024 by Academy of Therapy Wisdom. Only the author may reproduce their content.
To read more articles or download a free copy of the final publication visit Wise Therapy Spotlight.
