Supporting Friends And Family Through A Difficult Time

At a recent BNI meeting, a friend, Crystal Griffin, shared a series of questions which I thought were so useful when supporting friends or family through a difficult time. Crystal shares:

How to suggest therapy

Ask some questions: you can’t show you genuinely care unless you prove you’re willing to listen. Ask ‘So, what’s been going on’; ‘how have you been feeling’; ‘what are you thinking is going to turn this round’; ‘what have you tried’; ‘what are the consequences if you keep going like this’
Plant a seed: do your research well and tell your friend (child, sibling, parent) that you’ve heard of someone (or some therapy type CBT, or person Crystal Griffin, LCSW) who gets extraordinary results fast. ‘I can email you the website or the number if you want to check it out’.
Tell a ‘dear John’ story: like I heard that ‘this friend of mine was struggling with anxiety and he has had an amazing results with CBT or my a co-worker was fighting a lot with his spouse and decided to go to therapy - it saved their marriage”.
Don’t judge: a friend doesn’t want to hear a judgement about the tough point they’re going through right now. It might seem simple to you from the outside. It’s not simple for them, so if you’re going to say a ‘should’ or an ‘ought’ – stay silent and count to 10!
Care & invest: if you need to go with them on session one, do it. If they need a bit more support getting into a new routine, be there. Encourage, cheer and love. They’d do the same for you.

Crystal Griffin, LCSW Bird's Eye View Counseling, PLLC

As a solution-focused therapist, my goal is to help you uncover your true potential and lead a life that is worth celebrating. While we can't change difficult situations, we can work together to better understand and resolve challenges in your life.

By applying complementary therapy approaches and techniques, we will uncover behavior and thinking patterns that are probably holding you back from experiencing a more fulfilling and meaningful life. Changes do not happen overnight, so the sooner we start, the sooner you will have PEACE in your life.

I utilize a variety of techniques to match your needs. I do prescribe reading and other work outside of session for you to gain better insight and awareness into how your patterns are affecting your life. Active participation is these exercises will expedite your healing process significantly.

I practice 'wholistic' psychotherapy which means recognizing our lives are interwoven with other aspects outside of our self. Different aspects of life need to be balanced - relationships, career, physicality and spirituality. Each aspect is unique and can vary in importance at different times. Being balanced provides a sense of control.

Crystal Griffin, LCSW

Bird's Eye View Counseling, PLLC

@ POiNT Health Collective

264 Haywood Road, #10

Asheville, NC 28806

240-707-0399