The fundaments of experiential psychotherapy rely on the belief that acceptance and mental maturity offer the individual a harmonious life both with himself and with those around him. These can be obtained through understanding oneself, increasing the number of life experiences and identifying one’s personal qualities. The purpose of this type of therapy is increasing self-consciousness, boosting optimism and creating self-awareness around one’s potential to develop various adapting and evolving strategies. Experiential therapy is centered on the person: his inside self (projection, thoughts, dreams, etc.) and the outside self (experiences with others, the environment, the society, etc.). The psychotherapy is procedural and dynamic, focusing on both the relation between conscious-unconscious-subconscious and the connection between body-mind-soul. The most frequent themes in this form of therapy are: emotional dependency, fear of being abandoned/ rejected, negative self-image, fear of failure, aggressiveness, fear of authority, anxiety, loneliness and sexual frustrations.

Experiential psychotherapy comes with a set of methods that can be adapted to each client’s specifics: age, sex, needs and resources. It is focused on “here and now”, on what is going on in the client’s life at the respective moment. The past is important, but this type of therapy does not consider that the first thing that needs to be addressed is the past. The techniques used aim at identifying the client’s qualities and resources, and unlocking his creativity, in order to help him solve his current problems and learn coping strategies which will help him deal with future issues. The purpose of the therapy is to encourage and help the person take his life into his own hands and assume the responsibility for his own actions and for both the joys and success and the failures and dissatisfactions. The most important benefit of this therapy is the fact that the client-therapist relationship is not based on dependency, but on a partnership towards the emotional, cognitive and social development of the individual.

There are many life situations that affect us on an emotional level. Some of us face them easier, while others have a hard time overcoming them. Some want to get through the problems faster, while others want the wounds to heal themselves. There are individuals who consider that the best way to deal with different situations is by talking to their family and friends, but there are also people who isolate themselves and refuse to talk about their problems.
Nevertheless, we all know when we need help. A professional can help us when those difficult situations become more frequent, when we cannot be optimistic, when the confidence in ourselves decreases and when we see our future looking dark and gloomy. Being caught in the daily whirl of events, we may not realize that the our relations may be suffering, we might have become colder with our dear ones, our behavior and reactions might be different, we may be more stressed, irritable, negative and unable to find solutions to our problems.
An indicator of this can be the feedback from those around us and if they perceive a change with us. If they insist that you talk to a specialist or even make an appointment for you to see a therapist, you have to take into account the possibility that there is a problem that you need to address. Ask yourself if you can face the problem you have on your own, without specialized support. If your answer is “no”, then make an appointment and go talk to a psychotherapist. It is the only way you can start your healing process and making that appointment is your first step to taking responsibility for solving your problems.

The most efficient way to choose your specialist in psychotherapy is to ask for recommendations from those close to you, who already had this experience. If you do not know anyone who can recommend you a therapist, you can try looking up information online. Try choosing professionals who have been licensed by the Romanian Board of Psychologists, so that you can be sure they fulfill all the conditions necessary to practice their job. Another important aspect you can take into account is the certification history the person has. These can give you some insight on the methods they will use during the therapy and you can choose the one that best fits your needs. Another important aspect is to analyze how well you can interact with the therapist, how comfortable you are to share your most intimate thoughts and emotions, and how eager you are to go to the next session.

Any form of therapy should involve setting some objectives the individual wants to achieve. Follow your objectives and ask yourself some questions: what is going on with your life at this very moment? What are the resources you unlocked after you started therapy? What is now easier for you to do compared to the past? What did you stop doing after you began therapy? What did you learn about yourself?
Another indicator you can look at is the trust you have in your therapist. The more you are willing to share with him, the more trust you have in the psychologist. Also, consider the fact that your active involvement in the process of your own healing is in itself an important indicator of the success.
Irrespective of the school of thought your therapist belongs to and his level of expertise, the therapy’s success is based on your motivation and involvement.