Taking the courageous step of talking to a therapist can feel a bit overwhelming at first, as you start to lay out what is undesirable about your life. Therapy is a space where you can start to understand your experiences, thoughts and emotions better, and begin to choose something different. In solution-focused therapy, the therapist uses the client’s own desired future to co- create solutions and goals. The client is asked to imagine a future where their current problem(s) are solved, and sessions revolve around focusing on solutions rather than problems. Imagining how life will be when a problem is gone or improved can give light to ideas on how to make it happen. This approach to therapy uses positive framing to look at what is going well in the client’s life, including their strengths and resources, and has the client visualize and build detailed mental imagery of what life is like after the problem is solved.

Cognitive-behavioural principles explore how our thoughts can influence our behaviours and emotions, which can then create self-fulfilling prophecies in our life. How we see, understand and give meaning to experiences in our life shape our reality. Our beliefs influence our actions, which in turn make those beliefs come true. Dr. Joe Dispenza, who has post-graduate specialities in neuroscience and biology, takes this further in his studies on how thoughts, and intentional meditation about our desired future, can create physical, mental and emotional changes in our life. Dr. Dispenza has seen incurable illnesses cured (documented by medical professionals), paralyzed individuals walk again, chronic pain disappear, deep emotional and mental transformations take place, and large life-goals be achieved. These occurrences are truly awe-inspiring and lead us to realize that our intentions, thoughts and emotions are extremely powerful and tangibly influence the world around us. They can lead to self-healing at small and large scales, showing us that we have within us the capabilities to create the life we desire.

If every thought, word and behaviour is like an energy signal that we send out into the world and have the power to influence our present and future, this means that we can have influence on our destiny and move towards desired goals in a more tangible way. Tackling the challenges in our lives through a solution-focused lens helps keep our focus on what we do want, being appreciative for what we already have, and bringing forth more of what we desire.

If one feels that they are struggling in many areas of their life, a first step can be to start imagining that their problem(s) weren’t relevant anymore, and look at how they would be thinking, acting and feeling if this were true. If it is not realistic for one to imagine a problem going away completely, they can start to imagine it improved, and notice what is different between the present moment and this imagined future. This improved vision can dictate small and large changes that can be made in the present. When we dedicate time each day imagining what we really want, imagining what it would be like and feel like to have it, we can generate momentum and hope that will lead us towards the goal.

Working with a therapist who understands solution-focused therapy and knows that each individual has the power within themselves to make changes, one can start making changes relatively quickly. Changing our thoughts can certainly change our perspective and feelings regarding situations, but also has the capacity to physically alter our life to be more of what we desire, as evidence by the work Dr. Dispenza.

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