Why Therapy Benefits the Highly Sensitive Person

Sensitive people may benefit greatly from psychotherapy. Usually, they will be conscientious about homework and reflect deeply of every session. Clients who do not think much about their conversations with the therapist may need shorter intervals between sessions in order to keep the process alive.

With highly sensitive clients, I do sometimes encounter the opposite problem: that the process is unfolding too quickly for the client and he or she becomes overwhelmed. In these instances, it is my job to slow things down. Sometimes I can do that by only repeating what I have heard my client say. Just hearing me repeat their own words can immediately inspire new reflections in a highly sensitive person, and he or she will move a bit further along in their process. Sometimes all that is needed is my attention and presence. They will do the work themselves.

Before a session with a client I will consider the upcoming conversations and what the aims might be. When the client is highly sensitive, this kind of preparation can be difficult. Time and time again I have found that the client has reflected and done so much work themselves between sessions that the aims have already been reached and the client is in a completely different place.

The primary aim of psychotherapy for highly sensitive people is often to promote and support self-love. Many who are highly sensitive struggle with low self-esteem for which they try to compensate by setting extremely high standards for themselves. They get caught in vicious circles. These high standards mean that the highly sensitive person repeatedly experiences failing, which then has a negative effect on their sense of self.