When attending recruit training (boot camp) at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California in 1996, I was required to complete an obstacle course known as the Confidence Course. It was an integral part of helping transform civilian recruits into military personnel.
Some of the obstacles were relatively easy for me while others were challenging. As well, because of how the training cycle was scheduled around holidays, the platoon of which I was a member was able to skip some of the most demanding though unnecessary obstacles.
Nevertheless, the final obstacle for completion so that recruits could earn the title of Marine was to ascend and descend a steep hill known as the Reaper on an arduous hum (hike). After that, it was all downhill for the remainder of recruit training. (Pardon the pun.)
Now that I practice Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), I think of how obstacles to change may impact the psychotherapeutic process. Regarding these barriers, page 196 of The REBT Therapist’s Pocket Companion lists:
· therapist factors – (e.g., practice of a psychotherapeutic modality that isn’t appreciated by a client)
· client factors (e.g., refusal to complete negotiated homework exercises)
· therapist-client factors (including poor client-therapist matching) – (e.g., poor therapeutic alliance which presents as a substantial impediment to psychotherapy)
· the negative impact of clients’ significant others (e.g., a spouse who deliberately sabotages a client’s practice of REBT)
These are common occurrences and I’ve dealt with each. Before addressing various obstacles with which a client presents in individual sessions, remediation of the aforementioned obstacles may need to occur first.
After all, the process of change can be challenging enough as is. Therefore, if skipping past demanding though unnecessary obstacles affords a client to achieve desired interests and goals, one may as well mitigate these matters early on.
Ultimately, the process of change can be difficult and uncomfortable though obstacles to transforming one’s life may be effectively addressed by use of REBT. If you’d like to know more about how to make necessary modifications in spite of challenging obstacles, I’m here to help.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
Photo credit (not Marine Corps boot camp), fair use
References:
Dryden, W. and Neenan, M. (2003). The REBT Therapist’s Pocket Companion. Albert Ellis Institute. ISBN 0-917476-26-3. Library of Congress Control Number: 20031044378
Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer
Hollings, D. (2023, September 8). Fair use. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/fair-use
Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better
Hollings, D. (n.d.). Hollings Therapy, LLC [Official website]. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/
Hollings, D. (2024, April 18). Homework. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/homework
Hollings, D. (2024, January 2). Interests and goals. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/interests-and-goals
Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching
Hollings, D. (2023, March 20). Practice. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/practice
Hollings, D. (2023, September 15). Psychotherapeutic modalities. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapeutic-modalities
Hollings, D. (2024, May 5). Psychotherapist. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapist
Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt
Hollings, D. (2024, January 11). Therapeutic alliance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/therapeutic-alliance
Kireyonok_Yuliya. (n.d.). Bison race - obstacle race, sports competition, Belarus, May 2019 [Image]. Freepik. Retrieved from https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/bison-race-obstacle-race-sports-competition-belarus-may-2019_26168892.htm#fromView=search&page=1&position=21&uuid=7caf44d9-417f-4914-a69b-6aa5a8b16009
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