I don’t have the year or date, but cartoonist, Gary Larson, drew a cartoon about human’s feeble attempts to have their dogs understand them. It sparked articles and conversations about the intelligence of dogs. The owner was scolding the dog and the dog only heard, “blah, blah, Ginger, blah, blah, blah.”
This cartoon makes me think about the attempts of communication between humans and how it seems hit and miss at times.
I think about the interactions between client and therapist, and how some statements and therapy modalities sound like blah, blah, blah to clients. Sometimes trainings for therapists sound like that, too.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) EFT(Emotional Freedom Technique) IFS(Internal Family Systems), and many, many more,
are all therapy modalities and each one offer potentially great treatment. However, a particular modality, or more than one, may just sound like blah, blah, blah to a client or a clinician.
I lean toward the somatic, emotional, and holistic modalities and tried to learn DBT. Some of the concepts I already knew because some of it is rooted in CBT. But as I got into the weeds and learning the details, it didn’t stick. It really sounded like blah, blah, blah. Other modalities were so easy and intuitive to learn, they seamlessly blended into my practice.
Clients sometimes hear “blah, blah” when listening to a therapist who is utilizing a specific modality. It is important that clients let their therapist know when that modality isn’t working. Hopefully, the therapist can see when that modality isn’t working and can use another that may be a better fit. However, therapists are human, too, and may miss the non-verbal cues.
What a great time (and safe place) to practice assertive communication skills by letting your therapist know what is and isn’t working.
Good therapy doesn’t have to feel like a study in rocket science.