Learning Therapy ≠ Mastering Therapy

https://youtu.be/YNnGo6v75oA

I think sometimes our Education about Therapy causes us to mistakenly believe that we have Mastered Therapy, and I want you to know there is a MASSIVE difference between being Educated on something and Knowing how to actually do it well. Let’s talk about the difference and why it matters to our growth as therapists.

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A lot of y’all are well studied. You really learned what therapy is. You know the theory and you pass the tests. But when you get into the therapy room, things are different. And I need you to know why.

I get a ton of emails from people, literally on a daily basis, asking about using Solution Focused Brief Therapy. And today I want to talk about a very specific type of email that I get. And it’s from people that tell me that they’re already using it, but they’re struggling with this kind of client, or that kind of client, or whatever kind of client. It’s people like that. “I use Solution Focused Brief Therapy”, but I’m really struggling when the client has such and such.

And I want to tell you the harsh truth, the straightforward truth. I want to be very direct with you.

I’m sure you’re already using it, but the question I always have is, “How well?” How much mastery do you have of this approach? Not how much knowledge do you have about the approach. I’m sure that’s quite high, but it’s really, how much mastery do you have of the language of this approach? Because once you have the real high level of mastery that’s required, then you understand how to use it with your client, whether they have ‘insert problem’, or this kind of problem, or XYZ problem, or whatever, it just flows from you.

I think you need to learn how to use this approach. You can practice it from a flow state, from an area of expertise, and from an area of complete fluency. The problem is most people don’t learn it to that degree. And they think just because they know what it is, they know how to apply it in their work.

This week we’re doing a very large training, one of the largest trainings in the history of Solution Focused Brief Therapy. Over 3,500 people have signed up already and we’re doing this in a few days. And as I’ve been sending emails out to my following, inviting people to sign up for this program, some people have responded by saying, “I already use Solution Focused Brief Therapy in my work, but I’m really struggling with these kind of clients… will this training help me?” And the answer is, “Yes. The training will help you. Not necessarily with that specific client, but the training will help you gain the level of mastery that is required, so that you can make a difference in your clients lives, by flowing through this approach, by being fluent with this approach, by having the skill to use this approach.”

I’ve been traveling around the world and online teaching Solution Focused Brief Therapy for over 20 years. The hardest thing that I have to overcome, and I struggle to overcome it today, just as I did nearly 20 years ago, is teaching people the difference between knowledge and skill.

All of those people who email me, I’m sure they have a high amount of knowledge, but they’ve confused knowledge with skill. And I keep trying, and I keep trying, and I keep trying, and I’ll continue to try to promote the idea and how important it is that you have skill.

Knowledge is not enough when you’re sitting with a client who’s struggling with an issue. Skill is what you need.

So do what you need to do to build up your skill, to build up your artistry with the craft, to build up your mastery with the thing that it takes to get good in Solution Focused Brief Therapy. And that thing is the art of asking the kinds of questions that lead towards change, regardless of what problem brought the client into your care.

That’s what the focus is of all my trainings. That’s what the focus is of this upcoming training that we’re doing. And by the way, we still have some spots, registration is still open. If you want to join in the training, click on the link. And if you watch this after the event, the link will just take you nowhere. But if you watch this, while registration is still open, click on the link, and you can join us in the event.

No matter what, no matter where you go, no matter what you do, understand that this is not something you can get good at just being just by knowing what it is. You can’t study this in a book. You have to put it into practice and build the skill. That’s what all of my trainings are about. That’s what this upcoming training is about. That’s what my books and things I write are about. That’s what everything I’ll ever do is about.

So hopefully you will engage in material thinking about skill and not knowledge. And I really do, I hope I see you in our upcoming event.