The hard truth that speeds up therapy progress

One of the most important turning points in therapy is a quiet but powerful realisation. Effective therapy is not about how other people need to change. It is about how you can change. And yes, that can feel both liberating and mildly irritating at the same time.

There is a cherished and necessary place in therapy for venting. For saying exactly how things feel. For naming the injustice, the hurt, the frustration and the confusion. Being truly seen and validated in your experience matters deeply. Many people have never had that space before, and it is often the first layer of healing.

But therapy does not stop there. If it did, we might all be talking very insightfully about the same problems for years. The gentle shift comes when we begin to ask a different question. Not, “Why are they like this?” but, “What can I do differently to look after myself here?”

This is not about blame or accepting poor treatment. It is about recognising where your power actually lives. You cannot change another person’s behaviour, insight or capacity. You can change your boundaries, your responses, your expectations and the way you care for yourself in the face of difficulty.

In therapy, we work towards this shift together. We honour your story and your feelings, then we explore what coping looks like for you. What supports you. What drains you. What choices help you stay grounded and aligned with yourself.

Understanding this can save years of frustration. Change becomes possible the moment you stop waiting for someone else to do it first.

🌼 Your power has always been closer than you think.

~ Jumbled Bean