Amazingly, I have never had a client come to me on their first visit with all positive emotions. People seek therapy to change their emotional states, not just to talk. We all have an emotional palette of 5-7 emotions that affect our health and quality of life, shaping our personality.
To find out their emotional palette, I typically email instructions with the PDF attachment below about a week before our first appointment and a few days prior to follow-up appointments.
The purpose is fourfold:
- Understanding Emotional States: This allows me to know the client’s emotional states and track the progress we are making after the appointments.
- Increasing Emotional Awareness: It helps clients become more aware of their emotional world, which can be a real eye-opener for change.
- Tracking Progress: Both my clients and I now have a yardstick to see the progress or lack thereof after our sessions.
- Adjusting Therapeutic Processes: This allows me to either continue or change my therapeutic processes. Remember the saying about “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”?
Example Email to Clients
“Please fill out the attached Emotional Checklist by selecting the 5-7 most common emotions you experienced during the past seven days. Remember to select emotions rather than behaviors. Please email me these 5-7 emotions you selected prior to our session.
Some clients like to print the list and make 6-7 copies. Every night they go over their day and circle the experienced emotions. At the end of the week, it is easier to notice their 5-7 most common emotions.
Thank you”
By using this method, we can create a clear and measurable way to assess the effectiveness of therapy, ensuring that both the therapist and client are aligned in their goals and progress.
Clint77090(at)Gmail.Com