In therapy, ‘co-creating change’ is a potent tool that not only empowers individuals on their journey to well-being but also gives them a sense of control and confidence. It underscores the dynamic interplay between individuals and their environment, particularly within therapeutic relationships, to foster meaningful and lasting transformation. This approach acknowledges that change is not a passive reception of the expert advice of a therapist but an active, shared process, giving you the control and confidence to shape your healing.

Understanding the Foundation: What is Co-Creating Change?

Co-creating change involves building an effective partnership where the therapist and the client actively contribute to the healing process. It’s about working together to understand the client’s suffering and finding ways to alleviate it. This collaboration requires openness, trust, and a shared commitment to facing challenges.

Instead of the therapist acting as an authority issuing advice, the focus shifts to leveraging the client’s self-awareness and inner resources. The therapist’s role is guiding, supporting, and providing insights, creating a reassuring and supportive environment. At the same time, the client explores feelings, anxieties, and defenses.

• Practical Tip: Reflect on your relationships. Are they collaborative, or do they follow a hierarchical dynamic? Consider how shifting towards a more co-creative approach could improve understanding and growth in those relationships.

Navigating Emotional Terrain: Feelings, Anxiety, and Defenses

A significant aspect of co-creating change involves exploring the interplay between feelings, anxiety, and defenses. Feelings are the biobehavioral shifts that influence a person’s awareness, literally our emotions (anger, disgust, shame, guilt, sadness, joy, and fear). Anxiety often emerges as a response to these feelings, acting as a signal of inner turmoil. Defenses are strategies employed to avoid or minimize the discomfort caused by anxiety.

In therapy, recognizing these patterns is crucial. The therapist helps the client become aware of feelings, manage anxiety, and understand the defenses they use to avoid emotional pain. By addressing these defenses, individuals can experience their emotions more fully, leading to deeper insights and emotional healing.

• Practical Tip: Keep a journal to track your emotional responses. Note any patterns between feelings, anxiety triggers, and defensive behaviors like avoidance or rationalization.

Building a Therapeutic Alliance: A Partnership for Growth

The therapeutic alliance is the bedrock of co-creating change. It requires establishing an internal emotional problem on which the client and therapist can collaborate to solve, acknowledging the client’s will to seek therapy, and agreeing on the therapeutic task. This involves:

• Identifying an Internal Problem: Determining a specific emotional problem to address in therapy.
• Expressing the Will to Change: Acknowledging the client’s desire and readiness to engage in the therapeutic process.
• Agreeing on the Therapeutic Task: Defining a shared goal on which to collaborate by helping the client face feelings and turn against defenses.

For instance, a client might come to therapy stating, “I don’t want to feel depressed anymore.” The therapist then works with the client to explore the feelings and defenses contributing to their depression, establishing a collaborative path toward healing.

• Practical Tip: In any problem that you are trying to address, define the problem, express your desire to address it, and state the steps that you will take.

Overcoming Obstacles: Resistance and Transference

On the therapeutic journey, obstacles such as resistance and transference can surface. Recognizing and addressing these challenges is crucial for your progress. Resistance refers to a client’s opposition to the therapeutic process, often manifesting as denial or avoidance. Transference involves the client unconsciously projecting feelings or attitudes from past relationships onto the therapist. By understanding and working through these issues, you can pave the way for deeper healing and growth.

Addressing resistance requires patience and skill. The therapist helps the client recognize their resistance, understand its function, and see how it creates suffering. By clarifying the transference, the therapist enables the client to differentiate between past and present relationships, fostering a more authentic connection. This process can be challenging, but it’s also incredibly rewarding, encouraging you to stay motivated and hopeful on your journey to well-being.

• Practical Tip: Think about patterns in your relationships. Do you find yourself repeating specific dynamics or reactions? Identifying these patterns is the first step toward breaking free from them.

Embracing the Process: The Therapist’s Role

The therapist plays a crucial role in co-creating change. They provide a safe and supportive environment, offer guidance, and help clients explore their inner world. Key aspects of the therapist’s role include:

• Creating Safety: Establish a secure base for the client to explore feelings and vulnerabilities.
• Offering Education: Teach the client about the links between feelings, anxiety, and defenses.
• Remaining Collaborative: Actively involve the client in every step of the therapeutic process.
• Showing Compassion: Express empathy for and understanding of the client’s suffering.

The Art of Intervention: Techniques for Change

Effective therapeutic interventions are essential for facilitating change. These interventions may include:

• Clarifying: Helping the client articulate their feelings and experiences.
• Confronting: Gently challenging defenses or patterns of behavior that create suffering.
• Deactivating Projections: Addressing instances where the client projects feelings onto the therapist.
• Working through Anxiety: Helping the client manage and tolerate anxiety to allow for emotional processing.

By using these techniques, therapists can guide clients toward greater self-awareness, emotional regulation, and healthier coping mechanisms.

• Practical Tip: When you feel misunderstood, try clarifying your feelings and experiences calmly and assertively. This can lead to better understanding and connection with others.

Making it Real: Integrating Co-Creating Change into Daily Life

The principles of co-creating change extend beyond the therapy room. By embracing collaboration, emotional awareness, and proactive problem-solving, individuals can enhance their relationships, navigate challenges, and cultivate greater well-being.

• Improved Relationships: Applying collaborative communication techniques in personal and professional relationships, such as active listening, expressing feelings assertively, and seeking mutual understanding, can foster healthier and more satisfying interactions.
• Enhanced Emotional Awareness: Paying attention to your feelings, triggers, and defensive patterns throughout the day.
• Proactive Problem-Solving: Taking an active role in addressing challenges rather than avoiding them. This can involve identifying potential issues, developing strategies to address them, and seeking support when needed, all of which can contribute to empowerment and resilience.

Co-creating change invites individuals to participate actively in their therapeutic journey toward wellness. By embracing collaboration, emotional awareness, and proactive problem-solving, individuals can weave wellness into their daily routines.

Reference

Frederickson, J. (2013). Co-creating change: Effective dynamic therapy techniques. Seven Leaves Press.