Psychotherapy is thought to be something where we go to a trained, licensed professional in mental health, and they help unravel how we can find satisfaction and improve our lives. Some think it requires lying on a couch; others see it as engaging in physical battles with inanimate objects; and some look for dark corners in our psyche where hidden bits of inadequate development or envy live.
Take your pick, but don’t expect that all of them will work for everyone. In fact, I have my doubts about quite a few, and money and elitism are the factors most in charge there. I won’t go into hypnosis. In fact, a young woman told me weeks ago that everything in her life was going to be immediately fixed by going for hypnosis, and all her bad memories would be erased. Forgive me, but that’s like saying the moon is made of green cheese. We all know it’s blue cheese.
Now, there’s a new hope on the horizon, and it may have some aspects in it that will provide a degree of help, especially for those without insurance or the money to pay for traditional psychotherapy. And while we’re on the money issue, allow me to let you in on a bit of a conversation I heard at a gathering of psychotherapists once. The animated woman was telling her cohort, “I have to pay for that new garage, so all I have to do is make sure all my patients stay with me.” Ethics be gone; she needed a new garage. How many summer homes, BMWs, or trips to Europe did those patients underwrite?
eCPR is a public health education program that teaches people how to help others who are having a hard time emotionally. This program was devised with the help of people who thought about their own emotional crises and how they could be used to help them grow as people.
Everyone can have an emotional crisis at some point in their lives. When we are in unusual situations, we come up with amazing and creative ways to keep ourselves safe. From the outside, this can look very strange or even scary, but to us, those mechanisms make sense in those situations. People who exhibit strange behavior that appears to be the result of an emotional crisis can better understand and overcome their fear. So, how do you do it? eCPR breaks down this understanding process into three straightforward steps, which are also part of the process name.
The steps are connecting, empowering and revitalizing. Each step helps us develop resilience and reveals the power within each of us that may be brought to bear when we need it.
Connecting: Strengthening listening skills and establishing the person in crisis’s sense of safety and respect are essential components of connecting with them.
The goal of emPowering is to assist people in discovering their inner strength so that they can move past negative emotions like anger and distress.
Revitalizing means helping people find a sense of purpose, which is at the heart of what it means to revitalize them. There is a holistic, positive, and powerful approach to addressing mental discomfort in each of these processes. We understand that people’s emotional pain is a form of expression, and with this knowledge, we may serve as an intermediary between them and the world beyond their immediate situation.
How do you obtain training in eCPR, and who should be trained? Interestingly, these programs are folded into seminars aimed at anyone who wants to develop the ability to help others. You don’t have to be a mental health worker or in the health field, and it can help all of us. Helpful background information is available. There is a center that provides information regarding eCPR seminars and training. Or contact The National Library of Medicine for guidance on facilities and groups that may offer the training.
