Life Coach

Does Therapy Really Work?

If you go to the car shop your mechanic is going to diagnose your car with visual observation, measurement, and even computer diagnostic equipment. When he is finished, he's going to have a good idea of what's wrong with the car. When you go to the doctor because you're not feeling well, they are going to begin the diagnostic process with blood work, scans, and monitoring equipment to get the best feedback possible to make their diagnosis. Perfect? No, but much more reliable than what you're going to see in the mental health field. This is not to blame mental health professionals; most are doing the best they can with what tools they have. However, mental health simply lacks testing processes and equipment to deliver reliable diagnoses.

Over the past 20 years, there has been an explosion of people seeking mental health therapy. Children, men, women, couples, you name it, they're trying it. But more recently the results have been scrutinized.

On Episode 298 of the Rock Solid Families Podcast, Merrill and Linda Hutchinson answer the question many of us want to know the answer to… Is therapy effective? Does it actually work?

The answer is not clear-cut. Way too often there is little to no benefit and even more harm is done than good. For this reason, people should take a closer look at therapy and know what to look for and what their part of the process is going to be in order to increase their chances of success.

On this episode of the Rock Solid Families Podcast, Merrill and Linda unpack the difference between counseling and coaching, the importance of getting the right therapist for the job, the hard work that is required of the client to move toward healing, and the most powerful healer in the room - God. They remind us that God wants better for us, but we have to want to include him in the process. This is where our humility or coachability comes into play. ARE YOU COACHABLE?

Here are 5 things you can do to ensure your coaching/therapy works effectively:

CHECK YOUR MINDSET:

In John 5: 6-9, Jesus approaches a man who has been lying near a healing pool for 28 years but still hasn’t been healed. He was making excuse after excuse, and waiting for those passing by to help him. Jesus approaches this man and asks him, “Do you want to get well?” Seems like a pretty silly question, right? But what we learn here is that if you want healing, you want to get better, you have to believe that YOU can do something about it. No one else can do it for you. You have to bring yourself to make an appointment and then walk into the counselor's office… not your mom, not your friend, not your sister. You have to want it for yourself.  

FIND THE RIGHT THERAPIST OR COACH:

After the initial discussion with your counselor/coach/therapist, you should be able to tell if you are going to like working together. Effectiveness is diminished if the relationship isn’t one of good faith and trust. You have you believe that your therapist/coach has your best interest in mind and you have to like them enough to partner together for the greater good of improving your health. This doesn’t mean that you are going to like or agree with everything they say, because sometimes they will say things you may not want to hear. However, relationship and rapport are important in the client-therapist relationship.

PREPARE FOR HEAVY LIFTING:

Counseling/ coaching is some of the hardest work you’ll ever do. What you do in the office is minimal, but the action plan/homework is where the heavy lifting comes in. This may look like making apologies, admitting you are wrong, having tough discussions, breaking habits, holding boundaries, etc. When it comes to counseling or coaching, the coach should not outwork you. Take what the resources they give you, set an action plan, and get to work!

FIND THE RIGHT TOOLS:

When it comes to our mental and personal health, there are a lot of different avenues we can take to get help or move towards healing. You need to figure out what tool will work best for you. Is it coaching? Medication? Licensed therapy? Talking to a friend? Once you find the right tool, start using it! Don’t just leave it in your “toolbox” until it's too late.

ASSESS THE PROGRESS:

If you don’t get a report card from school, how do you know how your kid is doing in class? The same goes for counseling – you should assess what is working, what isn’t, what is confusing, are any resources or pieces missing, and whether you need any additional support Be sure to communicate any additional needs with your therapist or coach so that they can best support you and your healing. There have been some cases where a counselor doesn’t provide a client with tools and resources because they want to keep a client longer in order to make more money. If you find a counselor who is NOT providing you with tools and resources to help you and empower you, you may need to consider finding a new one.

 

Looking for a coach or need some guidance? Call our office at 812-576-ROCK (7625) or visit our website at www.Rocksolidfamilies.org


For more content related to faith, family, fitness and everything in between, subscribe to the Rock Solid Families Podcast on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

The Harrison Butker Discussion - What Was He Really Saying?

Harrison Butker was invited to give the commencement speech at Benedictine College. You’ve likely seen a clip from his speech online or in the news, but have you listened to the full speech? If you are a Christian living a Christian lifestyle, you will likely find the speech good, but not surprising. However, If you watched the news clips, you likely have the idea that Harrison was trying to command all women to forget about careers and stay home to make babies. That is not what his speech was about. Yes, he touched on topics such as Covid-19 policies, faith, church leadership, and many social issues like abortion and the LGBTQ community, but his message was about standing firm in your beliefs.

Within just a few days, his commencement speech went viral and received 1.2 million views on YouTube. But what caused this uproar?

It could be because, in todays society, many of us identify ourselves by what we believe in, whether it’s our faith or the social issues we feel strongly about. It could also be because his speech reflects the current large division of our country - between conservative traditional values, and progressive liberal values.

On episode 287 of the Rock Solid Families Podcast, you will hear Merrill and Linda Hutchinson of Rock Solid Families dive into the context of Harrison's message, the relevance of his audience, and how it relates to the Bible and the beliefs of Catholics and Christians alike. They also discuss WHY it is important to know your faith, whether you're Catholic, Christian, or any other faith, and how you should examine your lifestyle and choices according to your faith. Harrison’s speech, just like Moses in Deuteronomy 6, challenges us to do just that - to stand firm in our faith and what we believe, versus the diabolical lies of the world we live in.

When we stand up for God and our beliefs, we are going to take some heat from the world around us. We see this in the Book of Daniel in the Bible. It is important to teach our families what we believe and why we believe. Harrison’s message to stand firm in your faith is essential to growing our families and children into strong adults who govern themselves by a compass much more effective than their own opinions. Teaching our families to ground their values in unwavering faith will help carry them through the heat the world will attempt to put them through. If you or your kids are feeling like the world is bombarding you with worldly messages, it may be time for you to take a stand like Harrison Butker.

Harrison's Speech:    • Harrison Butker FULL controversial co...   https://rocksolidfamilies.org

Listen to the full Rock Solid Families discussion regarding Harrison Butker’s commencement speech: