- Get Feedback From Your Clients
- Tailor your goal-setting approach to suit each individual client
- Use Routine Outcome Measurement
- Identify your automatic behaviours
- Address your most impactful automatic behaviour
- Identify a desired behaviour to replace your chosen automatic behaviour
- Understand how your fight vs flight brain impacts your work
This tip could easily be number one, at least in terms of importance, because I guarantee Deliberate Practice will not work if you try to do it on your own. Sure, you might be able to do it without a coach (though I think you’ll much be better off if you have one), but you’ll definitely need others to lean on.
Deliberate practice is hard. Whether you’re new and trying to figure out where to start or you’re a seasoned veteran, eventually you’ll start to feel unsure, confused, or overwhelmed on what to do. When you’re trying to work on something hard and those challenging emotions hit, it becomes far easier to give up.
That’s why I always remind people in those tough times, instead of giving up, go to your support system; whether it’s your wife, friends or co-workers. Some of the best advice you’ll get is from someone that’s not in the field of therapy, because they will think about what you’re stuck on in a different way.
If you do decide to get help from other therapists, it’s important to know where to go. I have put together various Facebook groups on our resources page for you to join and start asking questions.
I have also started a new Facebook group called the Deliberate Practice Cafe. It’s for therapists that are active in Deliberate Practice (or trying to be), so they can come together in one place to share their challenges and experiences. So if you’re into Deliberate Practice (or know someone who is) then feel free to join us!
For those times when you can’t lean on someone else, then lean on your values. Our values are helpful in many ways, as they are a major part of what fulfils us. One way that they can be helpful in deliberate practice is to call upon them when the going gets tough.
Here’s a list of my values, which I have shared in the past:
- Enthusiasm
- Persistence
- Drive
- Curiosity
- Helpfulness
- Doubt
- Genuine
- Authenticity
- Creative Thinking
- Patience
If you’re not sure about your values, take time to think about them, what brings you joy or ask the people who know you best. It’s ok if you don’t know your values right away, but if you add to them over time your efforts to grow will only become easier. I have leaned on patience many a time when I became frustrated I wasn’t improving ‘fast enough’.
While Deliberate Practice is hard, that doesn’t mean it has to stay complicated. If you’re ever looking to make it simpler, then always remember to lean on your values and ask for help.
Deliberate Practice Psych 