"Damn! I really did need therapy! "

Q: "What are your thoughts on behavioral therapy?"
Me: "They are for people with large gaps in social interactions. It is for people with scarred pasts and not really applicable to a normal person like me."

I went into a group behavioral therapy session with exactly that attitude and was pleasantly surprised to know I was wrong. Self awareness is for everyone and being tuned to what are the manifestations of your behavioral pattern matters a lot. The program involved 3 phases - Believe, Own and Act. At the time of writing this blog, I have only completed the first 2 sessions.

The first 2 phases involve a group of ten people and this group becomes your mirror in reflecting to you how you are perceived. In the first phase, we got to know each other via some exercises. We did the strength finder test to know our unique strengths. We represented our inner and outer selves via art material and listened to the group reflect on how they perceived us. It was a new experience and I came out thinking " Ok. This was an interesting experience. But am I more flawed than I believed myself to be?"

In the one month gap between the two phases, I digested what I had learnt and prioritized the items that I wanted to work on. Listening without interrupting was one such item. I practiced it and every-time I did interrupt made a mental note of it. I still am working on it, but having been made conscious of this - I notice this more in myself as well as others.

Phase 2- the own phase was a 3 day residential growth lab experience where the group stayed and bonded with each other. The 3 day program was intense - physically and emotionally exhausting. We spent days on exploring our inner selves. We used crayons, paint , theater and even dance to express ourselves.I enjoyed acting and this experience brought out the inner "villain" in me.Some of the experiences were intense and some were surprising.The experience was new and I did learn some things about myself and also re-inforced certain beliefs about myself. I still couldn't connect all the dots, but I do know my strengths and areas of improvement. I also now know a little bit of my behavioral patterns and why is it that I behave the way I do. This experience was a unique one and I would urge those of you who haven't tried it - to try it once.It will be interesting, if nothing else.