Developing Insight in Therapy Isn't Enough to Make Lasting Change

There's a common misconception that if you develop insight in therapy, the insight alone will bring about lasting change.  But this isn't true (see my article: A Common Myth About Therapy: Therapy is All Talk and No Action).

Insight Isn't Enough to Make Lasting Change

Insight alone doesn't bring about change. Insight can help you to understand the problem, which is a good first step.  But you need a lot more than insight, especially when you want to make a major change.

Mind-Body Oriented Psychotherapy Combined With Action on Your Part Can Bring About Lasting Change

As I've written in a prior article, mind-body oriented therapy is also known as Experiential Therapy.

Experiential therapy, including EMDR, AEDP,  Somatic Experiencing and Parts Work, provides a window into the unconscious mind (see my article: Experiential Therapy and the Mind-Body Connection: The Body Offers a Window Into the Unconscious Mind).

Experiential Therapy can facilitate change on an emotional level rather than just on an intellectual level.  This means an emotional shift, which can be transformational when it is combined with taking action.

The emotional shift can be in how you feel about yourself, your problems and the necessary steps needed to make lasting change (see my article: Experiential Therapy is More Effective Than Talk Therapy).

Are You Willing to Do the Work in Therapy to Make Lasting Change?

Over the years I've received many calls from people who have been in therapy with other therapists for years but who haven't changed. 

Often they'll say that they gained a lot of insight into their problems and their therapist was nice, but their problems remained the same.

In most cases these clients talked about their problems and the therapist helped them to make the connection between their personal history and their current problems. For most of these clients this was a good start, but that's where it ended.

Insight Isn't Enough to Make Lasting Change

How Contemporary Psychotherapy Has Changed

For the most part, contemporary psychotherapy no longer involves clients free associating to a neutral therapist who barely says a word the whole time. 

Contemporary psychotherapy is much more interactive these days with an active therapist and an active client.

Clients who want to make lasting change need to be willing to do the work. Beyond developing insight, this means taking steps--no matter how small--to make changes.  

I think many people don't realize that working on making changes in is a major commitment  in time and effort in weekly therapy.  

Unfortunately, there are some people who believe that the therapist is the one who does something to bring about the change they want.  But that's not how therapy works. 

In collaboration with your therapist, you have to be willing to make a plan so you can take steps to make changes (see my article: Making Changes Requires Taking Action).

Are You Feeling Stuck in Your Therapy?

If you're currently in therapy and you're feeling stuck, as a start, talk to your therapist so you can both assess how and why you're stuck (see my articles: How to Talk to Your Therapist When Something is Bothering You About Your Therapy and Overcoming Obstacles to Making Changes).

Sometimes there's a part of you that wants to change and another part that doesn't. This isn't unusual. Ambivalence is common for clients in therapy (see my article: Overcoming Your Fear of Change).

An effective way of working with these different aspects within you is to work with a therapist who does Parts Work Therapy, which is also referred to as Ego States Therapy or Internal Family Systems (see my article: How Parts Work Therapy Helps to Empower You).

Aside from talking to your current therapist, take time to assess your own willingness to take action.  If you're not ready to take any steps, you might not be ready to make changes at this point in your life.

If you continue to feel stuck after you have talked to your therapist and you have done your own personal assessment of your willingness to take steps to change, you can consult with another therapist who works in a different way to understand how another type of therapy might help you. 

Sometimes an adjunct therapy, like adjunctive EMDR therapy, can help to enhance the work in your current therapy (see my article: What is Adjunctive EMDR Therapy?).

When you attend an adjunct therapy, you remain with your current therapist and also work with an adjunctive therapist. 

Assuming your current therapist is willing, you provide consent to both therapists to share information about your therapy so they can collaborate on the work.

Being proactive in your own change process can be an empowering experience.

About Me

I am a licensed New York City psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT, Somatic Experiencing and Sex Therapist.

I work with individual adults and couples.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 or email me.

What's the Difference Between Functional and Dysfunctional Anxiety?

In her TV documentary, "Atlas of the Heart," Dr. Brene Brown, who is a social worker, professor and a researcher of emotions, describes the difference between functional anxiety and dysfunctional anxiety (see my articles: What's the Difference Between Fear and Anxiety? and  Getting Help in Therapy For Anxiety).

Functional vs Dysfunctional Anxiety

What Are Common Symptoms of Anxiety?

Before I get into the difference between functional and dysfunctional anxiety, let's first go over some of the common symptoms of anxiety.

Everyone experiences anxiety in their own way, but here are some common symptoms:

• Feeling tension in the body
• Experiencing muscle aches, including headaches, stomachaches and other types of pain
• Feeling shaky
• Experiencing difficulty with breathing or loss of breath
• Feeling restless, wound-up or on edge
• Feeling irritable
• Feeling easily fatigued
• Having sleep problems including problems falling or staying asleep

Functional Anxiety

According to Dr. Brown, functional anxiety tells you something you need to know.  It's similar to an alarm clock that signals you to pay attention.  

For instance, if you are due to give a presentation, you might feel anxiety which is the signal to prepare for your presentation.  

Functional Anxiety Can Help You to Prepare For a Task

Another example is the anxiety you might feel as tax time is getting near and you know you have to collect your tax information so you can see your accountant.  

With functional anxiety, once you do what you need to do, the anxiety goes away.

Usually, you don't need to attend psychotherapy for functional anxiety as long as you use it to accomplish what needs to get done and then the anxiety dissipates (see my article: Self Help Tips For Anxiety).

Dysfunctional Anxiety

Unlike functional anxiety, dysfunctional anxiety is anxiety you experience that you can't use.  

Dysfunctional Anxiety

Dysfunctional anxiety can keep you uncomfortable for a long time.  You might feel it for weeks, months or even years.  

This type of anxiety keeps churning inside you. 

This is the type of anxiety where you can benefit from seeking help in therapy because this anxiety doesn't go away.

Dysfunctional anxiety is often related to unresolved trauma, as I will explain below.

How Does Experiential Psychotherapy Help to Overcome Dysfunctional Anxiety?

Psychotherapy can help you to understand why you're feeling anxious. 

People often feel dysfunctional anxiety because of past traumatic events that were overwhelming. 

Experiential Therapy Can Help to Overcome Dysfunctional Anxiety

For instance, if you experienced psychological trauma when you were a child and you weren't treated for it in therapy, this unresolved trauma can get triggered again when you're an adult (see my articles: How Past Unresolved Trauma Lives on in the Present and Reacting to the Present Based on Your Traumatic Past).

Experiential therapy, like EMDR, Somatic Experiencing and AEDP are mind-body oriented therapies (see my article: Experiential Therapy and the Mind-Body Connection: The Body Provides a Window Into the Unconscious Mind).

These types of therapy often work better than regular talk therapy to overcome dysfunctional anxiety (see my article: Why Experiential Therapy is More Effective. Than Regular Talk Therapy to Overcome Trauma).

With experiential therapy, after you have learned  coping strategies for dysfunctional anxiety, if your anxiety is related to unresolved trauma, you can work through past trauma so that it's no longer an issue for you.

The Benefits of Experiential Therapy

The benefits of experiential therapy to deal with anxiety is that it helps you to:

• identify triggers related to the past that you're feeling now

• develop the skills to tell yourself if what you're feeling was something that occurred in the past and not now (see my article: Overcoming Unresolved Trauma: Separating "Then" From "Now")

• develop coping strategies to deal with dysfunctional anxiety

• work through unresolved trauma so it no longer gets triggered

Conclusion

Anxiety isn't always a bad thing.  

Functional anxiety is positive because it acts as a signal for you to take care of something. With functional anxiety, once you have taken care of it, your anxiety is gone.

Unlike functional anxiety, dysfunctional anxiety doesn't help you. You can't use it to spur you to take care of something that needs to be done.

Dysfunctional anxiety doesn't go away on its own.

Since it doesn't go away, you need to seek help from a licensed mental health professional who helps clients to overcome dysfunctional anxiety.

Experiential therapy tends to be more effective than regular talk therapy to overcome dysfunctional anxiety and trauma.

If your anxiety is related to unresolved psychological trauma, your best option is to work with an experiential psychotherapist who is a trauma specialist (see my article: What is Trauma Therapy?).

About Me

I am a licensed New York City psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT, Somatic Experiencing and Sex Therapy.

I am a trauma specialist and I have helped many clients to work through unresolved trauma so it no longer affects their life.

To find out more about me, visit my website where I have articles about how I work with anxiety and trauma: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist).

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.

The Mind-Body Connection: Can Yoga Improve Your Mood?

According to the Journal of Alternative and Contemporary Medicine, recent studies have demonstrated that yoga has been shown to increase GABA (gamma-aminobuturic acid), a chemical in the brain that helps to regulate nerve activity.  GABA is usually reduced in people with mood disorders, and doctors often prescribe medication to increase GABA to improve mood and decrease anxiety.

Mind-Body Connection:  Can Yoga Improve Your Mood?

According to the journal article, the study, which was conducted by Dr. Christopher Streeter and his colleagues of Boston University School of Medicine, measured GABA levels in people who practiced yoga and found an increase in GABA levels after a yoga session.

Dr. Streeter and his colleagues found these results encouraging and suggest that longer term research studies are needed to continue to explore the benefits of yoga with regard to mood and anxiety.

The study seems to corroborate what many yoga practitioners have been reporting anecdotally for years--that they have a sense of peace and well-being after their yoga sessions.

A word of caution: Although the research findings about how yoga can improve your mood are encouraging, it's always best to consult with your doctor and psychotherapist before you stop or decrease your medication.

About Me

I am a New York City psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR therapist, and Somatic Experiencing therapist. 

I work with individual adults and couples.

To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.

To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.