The Process Model

The Process Model

What is the basic perspective of the Process Model?

We believe that all of us are looking for a sense of fulfillment and well-being in our lives. As we experience this well-being, we allow our life energy to flow easily and without resistance. However, when negative events happen and we perceive that we are broken, or not safe, we constrict our flow of well-being. This restricts our energy flow and it is then that we experience dis-ease. The Process Model of therapy helps us identify our constrictions and release them, allowing our life energy flow to increase. We focus on helping you to expand your connection to consciousness and to learn to operate from there.

What are the concepts of this model with regard to relationships?

  • One’s relationship with Self is extended into his or her relationships with others.
  • Through our relationships with others, we figure out our relationship with ourselves.
  • Relationships are gifts for discovering ourselves as well as opportunties to celebrate ourselves with others.
  • Relationships become unfulfilled when we get stuck in our old injuries and issues, and then play them out on others.
  • Relationships can be improved, developed, and nurtured as the individuals within them become more conscious and fulfilled.

What are some goals of this model of therapy?

  • To invite clients to transcend, heal, and get beyond old and ineffective patterns of interaction that interfere with a fulfilling life.
  • To invite clients to expand their sense of well-being by resolving life constrictions that have been restricting their life energy and flow of well-being.
  • To invite clients to learn and do their part in communicating, solving problems, and maintaining positive interactions.
  • To invite clients to discover their unproductive interactions within their relationship, and to practice new techniques that lead to more fulfillment within their interactions.

What happens in therapy?

Coming into a counseling session is much like going to an exploratorium where all of the exhibits are designed to help you discover yourself: what got you where you are today, what you can do to set yourself free, what you can do to change your life. At our institute these exhibits are often action-oriented; they invite you to go beyond the story, stay in the present moment and keep the focus on yourself.

What do our counselors do?

Our counselors are much like guides employed to help you with your journey of self-discovery. They are trained to respect, trust, and follow your process into and through your unresolved issues. They learn to transcend their own issues so they can be with you without agendas of you. Thus, they can remain neutral, empathetic, and helpful whatever situation arises in your journey toward more awareness and fulfillment for yourself.

What is the evolution of this model of therapy?

The Process Model was developed in 1980 by Don and Carol Hadlock, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists. This model continues to evolve as we train counselors to become more effective in meeting the needs of their clients. The Process Therapy Institute was founded in 1982 to support the development and refinement of this model of therapy.