Introducing Clients to Self-Growth

As a mental health professional, you are well-versed in the language that corresponds to your training. Whether you’re fresh into practicing or have been working with clients for years, it is easy to let your knowledge become the norm and treat your clients like they know what you do.

The term self-growth, for instance, is pretty general. Although you understand the work that goes into it, clients may not, especially if they are new to self-care and counseling. Breaking down such an in-depth process is essential for not only a client’s understanding but also their progress.

Introducing Self-Growth

New clients who are just entering their journey to self-growth will need you to begin with the basics. As you know, self-growth is more than working on yourself when you have time. It corresponds to every aspect of one’s life.

Your role is vital to your client’s advancement in life. To be effective, you need to provide clear communication, compassion, and accessible methods for dealing with stress and other life barriers. Clients need to feel safe and secure in their environment with you and the rest of their care team in order to benefit from the help you are providing. Self-growth is about bettering your life from all sides. Entering into that can be overwhelming for some people, so easing into that journey is critical.

Taking Steps Toward Goals

Achieving one’s goals improves happiness and confidence, but before someone can reach their full potential, they need to take steps to get there. Before self-growth to the highest level can occur, a person needs to meet their basic needs and develop from there.

Talk to your client about their physical well-being. Are they living in a safe environment? Do they have access to nutrition, warmth, and security? If they have something that needs help in this area, work on that first. By accomplishing realistic goals one at a time, it is easier to experience self-growth. Once someone has a stable environment that ensures safety, they have the freedom and peace needed to continue.

From there, move on to emotional security. Do they feel safe and cared for by loved ones? Do they have meaningful relationships that benefit their happiness? Part of self-growth is improving relationships, which is another crucial aspect of counseling.

Discussing how a client will benefit from self-growth will motivate them to initiate change. Working together on what parts of their life they want to improve will offer them a list of goals to reach for. Then you can focus on how your client can accomplish those goals and celebrate their progress.

Aspects of Self-Growth

Self-growth is essential to someone living up to their full potential. They need to make changes that they have control over and learn how to manage a lack of control around all else. Some of the significant aspects of self-growth are working through impactful experiences, building and maintaining relationships, and self-reflection. 

Working Through Impactful Experiences

Helping a client work through their past is key to working on their future. Analyzing experiences allows someone to understand what they may have deflected at the time it occurred. Encouraging a client to embrace their experiences and face things they have been avoiding frees them to have more meaningful experiences ahead.

Working through the past takes time, but self-growth is an ongoing process that requires patience from both you and your client. It is essential to remind your client that there isn’t a switch they can flip to improve themselves. They need to be willing to commit to bettering themselves even though it isn’t easy.

Building and Maintaining Relationships

Addressing a client’s past will also help them maneuver relationships with family, friends, and partners. Because such a relationship can impact someone’s confidence and self-respect, it is vital that you make working on this a priority for your client. Discussing how a client’s relationship makes them feel, how they can improve things, and enhance their communication skills will give them the tools they need to make a change. 

Time for Self-Reflection

Once goals are met, the client will begin to see themselves differently. They may change their plans, values, or aims in life. Seeing progress in front of them encourages them to keep working on their growth.

As clients work on parts of themselves they feel need to be improved upon, there will likely come a time when their focus will shift. If they feel satisfied with the essentials in their life, they may reroute their goals to maintain what they’ve accomplished and make less intense changes moving forward.

Some ways a client can continue their self-growth journey include: 

• Improving their skills in a specific area

• Education 

• Taking control of finances

• Making time for creativity

• Balancing work, social events, and self-care

• Being more compassionate and forgiving

• Volunteering

Self-growth is an ongoing process of gaining happiness, confidence, and self-respect. This happens over time and with your help as a mental health and wellness professional. Focusing on a client’s current state and where they hope to be will help them begin their journey. Explaining the process of self-growth, what it means, and what it entails will introduce your client to what they can expect along the way. Their journey will significantly benefit from professional intervention and proven techniques. By working both one-on-one with clients and in groups, they can develop the skills they need to find what they’re looking for in life. At SokyaHealth, we provide numerous wellness services designed to enhance a client’s sense of self and personal growth. Within our programs, including self-care, therapy, and coaching, we offer an individualized experience for each client so they can get the most from their experience with us. Call SokyaHealth at (877) 840-6956 to learn more.