ABSTRACT
As clinicians, we know that helping a client gain insight into his or her story is a foundational step toward healing. Understanding the client’s relationships and the events that have taken place in his or her life, and clearly identifying the primary emotions and reactive tendencies that he or she experiences ensures that the therapeutic work is targeting the appropriate primary emotion and guiding the client toward emotional regulation and behavioral change. However, as restoration therapists, we would argue that insight around the pain is only part of what we need in order to facilitate change in clients’ lives. We must also help our clients experience and name the truth about their pain and guide them toward taking responsibility for changing the old behavior. In addition to understanding the pain, we need a path forward. The only way to move toward peace and connection is to understand and change the old feeling and coping patterns.
