Once a person who has experienced a trauma decides to try therapy, they have often reached the limits of their ability to interact with family and friends, as well as to function in the world. In many cases, beginning therapy is often an act of desperation. However, the choice to attend therapy indicates that the client is clinging to some vestige of hope. Your primary task as a therapist is to sustain and strengthen this hope.
An increased belief in the possibility of change, along with a sense
of being understood, are the foundations for a client's hope. Listening carefully to your clients and reflecting back an accurate and empathic understanding of their symptoms and life circumstances is the first step in helping your clients to regain their hope and belief.
After hearing your client's story, you must then propose a treatment plan that addresses the problems your client has shared with you. Using a collaborative process, you and your client must come to a shared understanding about the goals of the therapy and the means by which these goals will be attained.
As you begin to learn STAIR, keep in mind that for your first session with the client you will need to accomplish the following:
- Emphasize treatment goals related to improving day-to-day functioning.
- Highlight client responsiveness and engagement resulting from discussion of treatment as having goals and interventions that match identified needs.
- Commitment to the treatment plan.
- Complete the focused breathing exercise, ending with the client feeling calm.
