Why does some therapy not work?

In 1965, there was a case study done to look at the effectiveness in styles of therapy. Two incredibly influential clinicians had a session with a woman named Gloria and she provided feedback on her experiences. She reported one of them being far more helpful, but not really enjoying her conversation with him. He had a more direct analytical style and was certainly a more sharp personality. She reported her experience with the other clinician as not being very helpful, but liking him a lot more. This man was named Carl Rogers and his primary view of counseling is if you understand people well they can change on their own. Gloria left feeling understood by Carl, but just as lost as she was when she first met him. 

Carl was coming from the post modern philosophical era that began around the 1950s and is considered to have ended by the turn of the millennium, but still has a significant impact on our world and our thinking. Some key ideas of this era is a skepticism towards truth, or the idea of truth being relevant to the individual. The result of this is clinicians used to have helpful viewpoints and their education equipped them to help you see and change things about your life. But many clinicians have been influenced by this era of thinking. So they can see you drowning but think the way to help you is not help you understand you're drowning. Because if you don't feel like you're drowning, that could be harmful. Any guesses what the result of trusting a drowning person when they say they're fine?

At Fowler Family Therapy, we believe truth exists. We believe clinicians are trained and equipped to help people improve their lives. This is probably why we have a really high percentage of clients that 1) finish therapy faster than normal 2) report a significant reduction of symptoms if not complete removal of them and 3) other parts of their lives improving where they didn't expect therapy to have an influence. 

Post-modernism is stupid. It has a distorted view of love, wellness, and humanity. Expertise still exists and real help still exists. Contact us today for real help.