The Psychology of Change

In order to really get to grips with the psychology of change, what’s required and how it happens, we are going to consider this question by juxtaposing two different concepts (both requiring personal change) and examining the processes involved.

Does Therapy Really Work?

When a person wants to overcome a problem they will often consult a Therapist who specialises in their particular problem. For example if you want to overcome a phobia, you would go to a phobia specialist, anxiety, an anxiety expert.

Frequently people will want a lot of questions answering before deciding whether or not to proceed, and this is completely understandable.

The most commonly asked questions about therapy are:

• How Many Sessions Will I Need?
• How Much Will it Cost To ‘Cure my Problem’
• How Effective is Therapy?
• Do I Need Special Skills?
• If My Problem Persists Do I Get My Money Back?
• If My Problem is Not Cured Does This Mean Therapy Doesn’t Work?

Let’s consider each of these questions.

How Many Sessions Will I Need?

The number of sessions that a person needs depends on a number of factors, including:

• How long they have had the problem
• How motivated they are to want to overcome the problem
• How much effort they put in to changing

If the person has been experiencing the problem for 20 years, then it is likely that many of the behavioural responses will have become habitual and ’embedded’. In these circumstances they may be looking at 20 sessions, for example. On the other hand, if the problem is only a few weeks old, than it may be possible to overcome the issues in 2 or 3 sessions.

It is also important that the ‘reasons’ for wanting to overcome the problem are founded in personal motivation. It is almost impossible to overcome a problem for somebody else’s benefit and this is mainly due to the fact that most psychological problems have a ‘beneficial’ or ‘coherent’ reason for being created in the first place!

Thirdly, nobody overcomes a problem without making a personal effort. As much as it would be really fantastic if some sort of ‘effort-free’ therapy could be invented, ‘magical cures’ do NOT exist and people wlll always have a role to play in beating their own problem.

If magic-cures were real, they would cost so much money you’d never be able to afford them anyway!

Do Driving Lessons Really Work?

When a person wants to learn to drive they will often consult an instructor who specialises in teaching driving. For example if you want to learn how to drive a bus, you would go to a bus driving instructor, for a car, you’d look for a normal driving instructor.

Frequently people will want a lot of questions answering before deciding whether or not to proceed, and this is completely understandable.

The most commonly asked questions about driving lessons are:

• How Many Lessons Will I Need?
• How Much Will it Cost To ‘Learn to Drive’?
• How Effective are Driving Lessons?
• Do I need Special Skills?
• If I Fail my Test Do I Get My Money Back?
• If I Keep Failing my Test Does This Mean Driving Lessons Don’t Work?

Let’s consider each of these questions.

How Many Lessons Will I Need?

The number of lessons that a person needs depends on a number of factors, including:

• How old they are when starting lessons
• How motivated they are to want to learn to drive
• How much effort they put in to each lesson

If the person wants to learn to drive at 60 years old and have only ever been a passenger with no actual experience then they may be looking at 30-40 lessons, for example. On the other hand, if they are young (17 or 18) and have some experience of driving with their parents or friends, then they may only need 5 or 6 lessons.

It is also important that the ‘reasons’ for wanting to learn to drive are founded in personal motivation. It is almost impossible to learn to drive for somebody else’s benefit. When we WANT to achieve something for our own benefit we are ALWAYS more motivated.

Thirdly, nobody learns to drive without making a personal effort. As much as it would be really fantastic if some sort of ‘effort-free’ driving skills could be invented, learning to drive by just reading the car’s manual can never be a substitute for the time and effort taken in lessons

If you could learn to drive just by reading the book, they would cost so much money you’d never be able to afford them anyway!

Free Initial Consultations

We offer all prospective clients an initial consultation to discuss your mental health problems prior to commencing any counselling.

The consultation is free and lasts around 50 minutes.

During this consultation we will discuss the various types of psychological therapy that are available to you and make a considered recommendation based on your individual personal circumstances.

Initial consultations are also available as part of our online counselling service.

At Tranceform Psychology we emphasise the importance of the therapy relationship in helping people to bring about effective change, so its important to be able to ‘meet’ to discuss our change programmes BEFORE proceeding.

Our policy is to help people make a fully balanced & considered decision about undertaking mental health work with us, including both the financial and personal implications.