Shari B. Kaplan explains how therapists shift from neutral observers to active "safe participants" who foster safety as the foundation for healing. They read body language, start where patients are emotionally, and calibrate warmth based on each person's history with kindness.
So in this new paradigm shift of mental health, the therapist is no longer a neutral participant. Matter of fact, we have to be a safe participant. And if our patients don't feel safe with us, we're not going very far. So how do we help our patients feel safe? We have to do a lot of empathetic listening and we have to start where that patient is at. So if I have somebody who I can see needs warmth and kindness, They're going to see my warmth and kindness. But when I have a patient who has never seen warmth and kindness, that's a very distrusting feature and trait to share with them. So we have to be able to look at our patients and see where are they at, read their body language, see how they're presenting so we can start where they're at. And then I can slowly share my compassion and bring it along.
