shrink/SHriNGk/
Verb: Become or make smaller in size or amount; contract or cause to contract.
Noun: A clinical psychologist, psychiatrist, or psychotherapist.
I assume the second use of the term refers to psychologists or psychiatrists who reduce the richness of their client to fit their own theories and expectations. They take the richness and mystery of the human experience and makes it small, confined and a bit boring.
And that I do as well as soon as I believe a thought. I shrink the infinite richness and mystery of reality into something that appears to fit a story.
I seem to be drawn to approaches that opens up for the richness and mystery of life, such as The Work, TRE and Process Work. And it’s really about how we relate to and use tools, not the tools themselves.
Here are some thoughts about a TRE teacher/psychologist I did sessions with this summer:
She shouldn’t rely so much on theory.
She shouldn’t try to fit everything I say into a neat theory or diagnosis.
She shouldn’t be so heavy-handed with her theories. She is too heavy-handed with her theories.
She is more concerned with her theories than what’s here.
She uses her theories to find safety. She uses her theories as refuge.