Amanda Buduris’ Post

Ending therapy can be a significant milestone for both therapists and clients. As we approach this transition, it's essential to ensure a thoughtful and supportive conclusion to our therapeutic journey. Here’s a checklist to navigate this process: Preparation for Termination Discuss what went well: Reflect on the successes and progress made. Plan the end: Confirm the date of the last session and discuss what to expect. Explore and Process Feelings Acknowledge emotions: Explore the client's feelings and potential sense of loss. Reactions to ending: Discuss both positive and negative feelings about the conclusion of therapy. Reflect on Gains by the Client Emphasise progress: Highlight the positive changes and achievements the client has made. Recognise growth: Help the client see their own development and strengths. Express Pride in the Positive Work Completed Celebrate new skills: Express pride in the client's newly acquired skills and strategies. Acknowledge the relationship: Share your appreciation for the therapeutic journey together. Discuss the Client’s Future Coping and Functioning Future tools: Discuss the strategies and tools the client can use moving forward. Potential return: Normalise the idea of returning to therapy if needed. Frame Personal Development as Unfinished Ongoing growth: Normalise that challenges are part of life and opportunities for further learning. Available resources: Recognise resources for unresolved issues. Anticipate Post-Therapy Growth and Generalisation Life application: Point out that the skills learned are likely to benefit other areas of life. As therapists, we aim to equip our clients with the confidence and skills to continue thriving. Ending therapy is not a goodbye, but a celebration of growth and a step towards a brighter, more self-reliant future. #Therapy #MentalHealth #Therapists

Ending therapy can be a significant milestone for both therapists and clients. As we approach this transition, it's essential to ensure a thoughtful and supportive conclusion to our therapeutic journey. Here’s a checklist to navigate this process: Preparation for Termination Discuss what went well: Reflect on the successes and progress made. Plan the end: Confirm the date of the last session and discuss what to expect. Explore and Process Feelings Acknowledge emotions: Explore the client's feelings and potential sense of loss. Reactions to ending: Discuss both positive and negative feelings about the conclusion of therapy. Reflect on Gains by the Client Emphasise progress: Highlight the positive changes and achievements the client has made. Recognise growth: Help the client see their own development and strengths. Express Pride in the Positive Work Completed Celebrate new skills: Express pride in the client's newly acquired skills and strategies. Acknowledge the relationship: Share your appreciation for the therapeutic journey together. Discuss the Client’s Future Coping and Functioning Future tools: Discuss the strategies and tools the client can use moving forward. Potential return: Normalise the idea of returning to therapy if needed. Frame Personal Development as Unfinished Ongoing growth: Normalise that challenges are part of life and opportunities for further learning. Available resources: Recognise resources for unresolved issues. Anticipate Post-Therapy Growth and Generalisation Life application: Point out that the skills learned are likely to benefit other areas of life. As therapists, we aim to equip our clients with the confidence and skills to continue thriving. Ending therapy is not a goodbye, but a celebration of growth and a step towards a brighter, more self-reliant future. #Therapy #MentalHealth #Therapists

Therapy is powerful, transformative, and... less than 0.6% of your week. 😉 That's right, if you're meeting your therapist for an hour each week, that leaves 99.4% of your time spent outside the therapy room. What you do with that time can significantly enhance or undermine the progress you make during your sessions. Here are some effective strategies to bridge the gap between your therapy appointments: ✔️Reflect on Your Sessions: Take some time to think about what you learned during your time together. What were your key takeaways? What resonated with you the most? ✔️Identify Actionable Items: It's easy to set aside what you've learned once you step out of the therapy room, but integrating these insights into your daily life is important for true growth. What are specific things that stood out to you that you'd like to address or work on? For instance, if you've noticed recurring issues in your relationships, consider setting a goal to address these in your interactions. ✔️Homework (yes, really): Therapists often suggest small assignments. This might be as simple as journaling your thoughts, trying out a new way of communicating with someone, or observing your reactions in certain situations. ✔️Prepare for the Next Session: Keep a note of observations or questions that arise during the week. What worked? What didn't? What would you like to explore further? This can make your next session even more effective. What you do between sessions can be just as important as the sessions themselves. If you're finding it challenging to make the most of this time, discuss it in your next session—your therapist can help you strategize and prioritize. Keep reflecting, keep growing, and use that 99.4% of your week to make the most of your therapy sessions.🔥

💡 Tip for Therapy Intensives: Involve clients in scheduling discussions to accommodate their needs.    Intensives are a significant time commitment, so giving clients the opportunity to pick times that fit well with their lives helps them stay stress-free and fully engaged.    This not only demonstrates respect and builds a stronger relationship but also means clients are more likely to show up consistently and get the most out of their sessions.    Plus, by considering their availability, therapists show they truly care and understand, making the whole process more client-focused and effective.    With that said, it's equally important to be aware of and communicate your own time/scheduling boundaries!     #therapyintensives #intensivetherapy #smarternotharder #winwin #therapistsuccess #traumatherapist #therapistsofinstagram #counselorsofinstagram #onlinetherapist #onlinetherapy #moderntherapist #therapist #therapistcoaching #therapistcommunity #traumainformedcare

The Importance of Listening and Feeling the Body in Therapy In our journey as teachers and therapists, we must embrace the mindset of perpetual students, for every client presents a unique learning experience. Each encounter is not just a repetition, but an opportunity to witness growth, change, and healing. The only constant we can be sure of is that the body is forever in a state of changing, shifting, holding, and releasing. As therapists, it is our privilege—and responsibility—to bear witness to these transformations. But to truly connect and understand our clients, we need to cultivate the essential skills of listening and feeling the body. When we allow our brains to enter our fingertips, we become attuned to the subtle cues and shifts within our clients' bodies. This deeper level of awareness enables us to provide more effective support and fosters a stronger therapeutic alliance. We must commit as teachers to enhancing skills of therapists in listening and being present in the moment, so we can better serve those who seek our help. #Therapy #ListeningSkills #BodyAwareness #ContinuousLearning #Therapeutic #MentalHealthMatters #palpationskills #triggerpoint #spatraining #energyhealing #massagetherapists

A question many therapists are asked after working with clients for a short or long time: Why isn't therapy working?  Dani Parmacek, LCPC, R-DMT helps clear up this question in her new blog post! Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gp_nhKvY

I went into my own therapy feeling extremely ambivalent yesterday. I've been doing therapy for a long, long time—close to 10 years overall—and approaching two years with this particular therapist. I felt directionless on how to use my session, and back of my mind had been this thought about how nice it would be to save the money I've been spending on therapy each month. Let's just say that over the year, it adds up to a nice chunk of change. So, I thought I'd start my session with all of this...the ambivalence; the money concerns; the directionless-ness. I then followed it all up with a question to my therapist: "from your point of view, what are the areas in my functioning where you think I still have more work to do?" Therapists usually consider two responses here: 1. Answer the question with a question facilitating a process about why this question is coming up now, what it means, etc. or 2. Actually answer the question honestly—and then MAYBE process the "why this question now" after. Lots of therapists opt for (1), which isn't necessarily "bad" but I do think it can be seriously detrimental. In my view, one of our principle jobs is to help our patients notice what they on their own can't seem to notice. My therapist opted for (2) and damn...he didn't hold back. 🤣 He was gentle and kind in his feedback, and he was also very honest. While this helped me personally recalibrate my own therapeutic journey, it was also such a helpful model and reminder professionally: Be gently honest with your patients to the degree that you can. And not every admission or question from your patient demands a meta process. Not enough honestly can facilitate an insecure environment where the truth is avoided, implicitly thought to be too dangerous to observe. Happy Tuesday, y'all.

A question many therapists are asked after working with clients for a short or long time: Why isn't therapy working?  Dani Parmacek, LCPC, R-DMT helps clear up this question in her new blog post! Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gmuRdNaM

For the longest time I felt like an incomplete therapist. Like I did not have all the tools I needed to be successful. But what I’ve learned was not that I did not have the tools, it was that exclusively specializing as a manual therapist limited my capacity to help my clients. As a specialist I was taught to identify ‘the issue,’ as the diagnosis would inform my choices for rehab. But I now know a diagnosis tells me nothing about WHY my clients are experiencing their pain or issue. And so my choices would not be tailored for my client’s set of circumstances. Resulting in slow or limited progress. I was taught to ask about the pain and that this would identify where to focus in their body and provide clarity on the level of severity of the issue. I now know that pain is an alarm output created by the brain to bring awareness to an interpretation of threat, and that pain may have nothing to do with tissue damage or site location on which to focus. So I no longer get distracted by what is truly important. And I was taught to use my hands, or another passive modality, on my client to help them progress quickly and gain autonomy. But now I know that unless my client learns to also self control and coordinate the new range that has been regained, the result is just that they feel better for a time but gain little progress and end up relying on me for relief. I no longer feel incomplete. Instead I feel released from the frustrations that come with specialized therapy. I find solutions to complex as well as simple issues. I tactically address my client’s specific concerns through integrating my rehab training, as well as strength and conditioning and neuroscience backgrounds. My mission is to share this approach with other professionals so that they may thrive, helping their clients solve complex issues faster and become leaders in the industry. #ReconditioningRevolution #NeuroReconditioning #MotionMastery

People often say that therapists just talk... I wish it were that simple. 💬✨ Through my experience as a therapist, I’ve noticed how common it is for people to assume therapy is just about talking. But each session brings its own set of challenges, far more complex than simply having a conversation. Each time, I carefully consider what to say to ensure the client feels safe and comfortable. I have to decide which approach fits their needs, choose the right techniques, or even know when to go slow and when to actually confront. Therapy also involves handling strong emotions—both theirs and mine. No two people are the same, and no two therapy sessions are alike. Every client who enters the room is unique, and the space we create for them must be, too. With adolescent clients, for example, the lines can blur when they begin to see you as a guardian or role model, which isn’t what therapy is about. There are also times when professional boundaries are tested, like when clients send inappropriate messages outside of sessions. These moments remind me that therapy requires both support and strong boundaries. I wish more people understood the true depth of therapy, the subtle complexities of the profession, and how important it is in people’s lives. Therapy isn’t just 'talking'—it’s an art, a science, and for many, a lifeline.