Will I be judged by the Psychotherapist?

Some people who were criticized while growing up may be terrified of meeting new people often due to the fear of being judged again . this happens commonly before meeting a therapist. From thoughts ranging from I will be declared crazy to I will be looked down upon can play havoc with a persons desire to seek therapy.

Here the thought of being judged is terrifying but in reality this is just a critical thought that  pops up  in the head and sits judge on us without factoring in the reality that the psychotherapist may or may not judge us . One would never know unless one interacted with the  Therapist. Most well trained and Experienced Psychotherapists would understand the mechanism in operation and talk about it. Yet often this thought is good enough to destroy our wish to help ourselves ,to collaborate with another person in order to seek a resolution to our emotional difficulty. It also causes rise in anxiety in the therapy room and symptoms of anxiety which can cause great distress.

This thought does another thing

It puts the psychotherapist on a pedestal. It also generates enough anxiety which does not allow any opening up. So the psychotherapist is viewed as a know all and yet knows nothing about us . Where might this therapy go eventually ? Not too hard to guess.

And therefore the first important step in therapy for anyone is to ascertain how to deal with this debilitating destructive mechanism of harsh and critical thoughts , which dis balances the relationship with the Psychotherapist we want to work with. Only a relationship of equals with an equal stake in the process can work. Any inequality is bound to lead to failure just like in our relationships .