 DON’T KNOW whether
it’s true or not, but the story goes that a man came to an ancient
philosopher desiring to learn wisdom. The philosopher took the man out into
a river and then suddenly wrestled him down under the water.
Just at the point of drowning him, the wise philosopher hauled him out again
and said, “Now, what did you say you wanted?”
The poor guy was just gasping and wheezing, begging for air.
“Well, when you want wisdom as much as you want to breathe,” the
philosopher told him, “then you shall have it.”
Perhaps you are wondering
about how I conduct psychotherapy. This is my treatment
philosophy:
 |
Unless you understand
that many aspects of psychotherapy involve a
life-or-death
process, or unless you want to understand this, you would be far
happier with any number of other psychotherapists.
Happiness—or
the appearance of it—is what most people today seem to value. And many
psychotherapists seem to think their job has something to do with helping
people fulfill their desire for happiness; psychotherapy then becomes not
much more than building up your sense of denial about the
vulnerability
of human existence.
Of course, many
people enter psychotherapy hoping to get rid of pain. Some people even manage
to use therapy to hide from their emotional pain. But a good psychotherapist
won’t let you hide from your past or your future, and you will be encouraged
to take up the “cup” of your destiny, however much you might wish
it would pass from you.
And, unlike medical
surgery, psychotherapy must be performed without anesthetics. You have to
be aware of the process, you have to feel the pain, and you have to look
directly at the ugly gore inside of you. It’s no wonder that most people
are afraid of it all.
You will find
many claims out there for an easy way to achieve physical and mental
healing.
But I predict that if you follow such a path—a path not grounded in
discipline and hard work—you are likely not to find anything more than
self-indulgence. True, one
part
of you might find something resembling health, but other parts will remain
unhealed, angry
and
fearful.
The only escape from the darkness of the
easy
way is to seek the light and pay the price
of genuine healing.
So remember:
it’s your life. Treat it with reverence and respect. That’s how
I do psychotherapy. You might not find happiness, but you will have
a good chance to find peace and joy: to discover integrity and encounter
the beauty of life itself. |
|
Sounds a bit harsh,
doesn’t it? Well, psychotherapy should be serious business. It
shouldn’t be about getting rid of problems; it should be about
making peace with your problems, taking responsibility for your life—even
if you didn’t ask for it—disentangling yourself from the desires
of the world around you, and discovering something about a human potential
you didn’t even know you had. To do this, though, you have to want
psychotherapy as much as you want to breathe.
Fees and Office
Policies
Consumer
Rights and Office Policies
Address
Raymond Lloyd
Richmond, PhD
55 New Montgomery Street, Suite 420
San Francisco, CA 94105-3429
USA
Licensed
Psychologist
CA Psychologist
License #PSY13274
Contact
Me
Contact
Me
If you are curious,
my office is conveniently located in downtown San Francisco, a half block
from the Montgomery Street BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Station in a handicapped
accessible building.
A Guide to Psychology
and its Practice
www.GuideToPsychology.com
Copyright © 1997-2008 Raymond Lloyd Richmond, Ph.D. All rights
reserved.
San Francisco, California USA
|
|
