The Fairytale...
Have you ever noticed how on-screen therapists seem to fix everything with clever thought? Suddenly the therapist says just the right thing and BANG!--The client now has relief and direction and it is implied that their behavior will change accordingly…
Psycho-archaeology…
Traditional psychotherapy approaches most symptoms as a mental riddle (usually connecting your past and present) which must be solved for you to feel and live better. This can mean long-term therapy which pursues insight, and (be careful!) trust of insight alone to bring you relief.
The Predicament…
From injury we develop negative beliefs. Negative beliefs become bad rules for action. Bad rules repeatedly hurt us. Mental insight may not change behavior enough to help because bad rules are unconscious. Bad rules live-in your automatic (lower) brain and not in your conscious (higher) brain which responds to reason.
The Peril…
An overly-mental (inadequately behavioral) therapy approach can actually make things worse by (1) increasing awareness of your problems without giving you something different to try doing, and (2) showing you a growing investment in therapy which is not producing results.
My Answer is a Responsible Blend of Insight and Behavior Change:
I will try as hard as any therapist to guide you to insight because insight may (1) help and help quickly and (2) make more powerful behavior change strategy possible. But if you never get clear insight about how you lost your way or are finding your way back, positive behavior change will still help.