This week I am transferring over audio files in the studio and backing up the raid system where I keep all client files. Every client I see and have ever seen using PCW is recorded using one of my Sony audio devices. They then receive a copy of the session on CD or data stick. There are currently 5000+ hours of audio footage on one of the hard drives and that’s not everything to date from the Leeds clinic.
I also keep full paper records of every client and comprehensive client notes. When looking through the different types of client condition it occurred to me today that a high proportion of problem issues I see on a weekly basis fall into the “anxiety category” and that anxiety issues are all about unhelpful anticipation and “fast thinking” Interestingly many clients have an excellent ability for “fast thinking” and problem solving that can work really well in a work context, BUT when applied in a self-diagnostic manner the very same strategy results in all manner of problems for them. The problematic feelings that they have that create “the stuck state” often come from unhelpful fast internal dialogue so they are literally telling themselves that “this is a problem” The voice temp exercise is of course superb as one of the approaches to resolve this.
Another interesting statistic is that “obsessive gamblers” are by far and away the people least likely to actually book into a session from an initial enquiry. There is a less than 5% uptake compared to the usual 90% uptake from the initial enquiry for help. People who obsess about gambling usually (but not always) have very poor ability to pay attention for more than the short term. When they make contact they feel like they need “immediate help” but this butterfly type thinking usually means that they don’t follow through to do anything about it! That having said the clients who follow through usually do very well and those are usually the ones who really appreciate that they have a genuine problem. Most gamblers I have met find it hard to form long term relationships.
Just as some clients obsess about the future and what it may hold, others fixate on the past and everything they experience is framed by past experiences. You can see these behaviours daily interactions and it’s very obvious in online groups as well where people can fixate on what they image to be true. Often many anger types fall into this category where they “feel that everything should be” a certain way and “people should behave” in certain manner! Essentially they see themselves as the person “who is right” in deciding “what is appropriate” Of course this is just one perspective and most angry people discover that the universe is not bending to their personal will! I have seen many clients with anger based issues and if this is not resolved the person usually experiences very poor health or in extreme circumstances the person ends up in prison. I have written many reports over the years on behalf of private clients with these kinds of problem issues.
These types of clients only see the world from their own fixed viewpoint and are very certain about how everyone else “should be” They are mostly disinterested in any other points of view until life becomes so painful that they are forced to reflect on their behaviours and thinking. As Frank Farrelly would say “When the pain begins, the learning starts…”