Do you know how Strong you are?

So this came up powerfully with a client of mine recently and it provoked me to Blog about a particular resource I think is really useful. This client disclosed in session that “I really just feel like a piece of sh*t, I am a bad person and I know it..”; giving my client first a space to feel and connect with that pain my mind went secondarily to therapeutic action with an exploration into the truth behind my clients feelings. As Marsha Linehan, the founder of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) would assert, feelings need to meet the facts. So, I asked my client “what makes you such a sh*tty person? Can we talk about the evidence that proves you are a bad person? After a long pause, my client responded, “well, I guess I do not know why, I just feel like it”. Without going into the meat of the session with said client, this provided us an opportunity to identify strengths in my client's character, as a means to provide evidence to the potential emotional error in my client’s feelings. When invited to identify some positive characteristics of herself my client was struck equally uncertain, so her homework was to complete the VIA Character Strengths Survey (click here to take it). What this survey provides is a detailed identification of your strengths by answering questions for about 10 minutes. With this list of strengths in hand, we have a guide into how we can use our Values In Action (VIA) and in-turn prove to ourselves (most importantly) and others that we are people of undeniable quality and demonstrated worth. 

I would love to explore your list with you and help create behaviors that lead to increasing your strengths and developing within your areas for growth. Let’s talk. 

-TM