How do you know if your client is “better?” – HPP 47

Keith Kurlander, MA, LPC

Life is a rollercoaster of ups and downs; so as a clinician, it can be difficult to decipher whether your client is legitimately “better” following treatment, or if they are just temporarily happy. In this podcast, Keith dives into what it really means to be “better,” and what that looks like through a clinician’s eyes.

It is important to set treatment objectives with your client based on symptom reduction, but it is also equally important to imagine with your client what they are truly capable of. When asking your client what they are hoping to get out of treatment, remember to challenge your clients to think bigger, and dig deeper. When that is achieved, the purpose of therapy can move out of a model of illness and into a model of wellness.

Show Notes:

What it means to really be “better” [2:45]

How to make use of your treatment objectives [3:15]

Challenging clients to think in bigger ways [5:15]

Helping clients reach optimal places within themselves [5:45]

The many purposes of therapy [6:15]

Importance of addressing root causes of mental illness [10:45]

Benefits of thinking from your clients’ viewpoint [3:15]

Keith Kurlander, MA, LPC

Keith Kurlander is the founder of Higher Practice, a company dedicated to helping therapists achieve their highest potential in private practice. He has two decades of combined experience in business administration, group facilitation, teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level, yoga instruction and as a licensed professional counselor in private practice.