Positive Intentions
Long valley,NJ
Licensed Professional Counseling in NJ/PA
Linda S. Langsam, LPC
...for the management of life's transitions
Individual Mental Health Services
Couples therapy
Family and Life Coaching
Clinical Hypnotherapy (optional)
Approved Clinical Supervisor
for Adults over 21
Professional & Personal
Home-based office located in beautiful
Long Valley/Hackettstown, NJ
Psychology Today Profile: https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/124861
Making life changes is always about a shift in perspective
How are you looking at your situation?
Below is a short story of how counseling services can help one shift their perspective and find positive change in their life. Rather than over-focusing and analyzing one's problems, unwanted habits, traumas or unfortunate life situations over and over, we can make successful positive change by shifting our perspective towards who we want to be instead of who we've been , seeking new cognitive, emotional, sensory and behavioral perspectives. The brain can be retrained to re-circuit old habitual thinking patterns with new neural pathways of healthy thinking and behaving. It is about quick results and relief.
I recall the story of a woman who was in traditional talk therapy for many, many years. She had been talking about her problems for so long that they had become a deep part of who she believed she was. Her pain became her identity. She felt cheated in life and strongly hung on to her suffering, although not by conscious choice. Out of desperation, she sought alternative methods of treatment. During her session, she was asked to imagine herself walking down a wooded path, headed toward a beautiful destination. But while walking this path, she confronted a large boulder blocking her way. It had been there for many, many years, preventing her from moving forward.
None the less, she was determined to go forward and so she began chipping away at this huge rock, one small piece at a time. She even hired hard working laborers to help her remove this obstacle from her path with their chisels and hammers. Although she persisted, the progress was painfully slow and she remained in the same place. As they focused on the obstacle, the problem, and the story of how she arrived at this dead end, she found herself stuck. Exhausted, she finally began searching for a new way around this boulder, a different path.
She realized that for her she had been so focused on the boulder that she overlooked an essential resource for moving on. Her perspective had been limited and narrow. If only she had taken her eyes off the boulder long enough to look over to the right, she would have noticed a little pathway that meandered around this obstacle, one that had been there all along. Placing her old chiseling tools aside, she now chose to follow this new little path, instead. Her perspective changed, and she saw herself as a life-explorer. And as she finally walked past the huge rock, she felt incredible relief and was able to smile again. She immediately noticed how much lighter she felt, and how much sunnier it was now that the shadow of that boulder was behind her. With great relief, she was finally able to move on. So will you.
Permission granted from Melissa Tiers for allowing the above metaphor/story to be as originally cited from her award-winning book, Integrative Hypnosis.
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