At this time of the year, it is common for patients to be interested in New Year’s Resolutions or other goals and aspirations. Mental health therapists are typically skilled in interventions to support crises and problems, but what about when things are calm for the moment and the main need is to observe and endorse a good outcome?

This episode highlights non-verbal communication that signals a regulated nervous system state, in order to support the treating clinician in determining when their patients are experiencing these and makes suggestions for how to respond.

We Want to Hear Your Feedback! Please Contribute to the Conversation: Share your thoughts on the podcast and how these concepts work in your practice, or ask a question and I’ll answer it in an upcoming episode: https://connection-therapy.com/contact-us

Leave feedback or ask a question with a message on Instagram: @theconnectiontherapypodcast

Enjoying the podcast?

There are now playlists for you to navigate to your favorite topics: https://connection-therapy.com/playlist

References:

How Horses Move:

https://mechse.illinois.edu/news/blogs/mechanics-motion-nature

Prochaska’s Transtheoretical Change Model:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556005/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transtheoretical_model

It is so natural to want changes at this time of the year, and as mental health therapists we are very likely going to support someone with a significant change that makes them anxious. Knowing how to support their exploration of possibilities while intervening non-verbally can help keep the momentum going in a way that simultaneously encourages a more regulated response that sustains the change process.

Listen now for some potential ways to work in this way!

As mental health therapists, it is common to hear someone speak of New Year’s Resolutions or other big changes they hope to see in the New Year. The challenge is sometimes people are not fully bought into the anticipated changes, despite their discussions of wanting them to happen.

Learning to view nonverbal signals, such as eye-contact, can support the mental health therapist in best supporting their patient. That is, if there is consistency across the stated intentions in verbal and nonverbal communication, then typical mental health interventions usually work. However, when there is inconsistency, the mental health therapist can learn to assess these discrepancies in order to better support their patients.

We Want to Hear Your Feedback! Please Contribute to the Conversation: Share your thoughts on the podcast and how these concepts work in your practice, or ask a question and I’ll answer it in an upcoming episode: https://connection-therapy.com/contact-us

Leave feedback or ask a question with a message on Instagram: @theconnectiontherapypodcast

Enjoying the podcast?

There are now playlists for you to navigate to your favorite topics: https://connection-therapy.com/playlist

References:

Pew Research on New Year’s Resolutions:

Who makes New Year’s resolutions, and why? | Pew Research Center

Prochaska’s Transtheoretical Change Model:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556005/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transtheoretical_model