Copy of Challenges to Long-term Change Efforts - a 3 Part Look at Goals for Long Term Change. Part 3: The Force of Inertia

Welcome to the second part of "Challenges to Long-Term Change Efforts - a three Part Look at Goals for Long Term Change. You can read part 1 here. And part 2 here.

I have a distinct image in my head from Scooby-Doo! of Shaggy and Scooby getting scared by a monster. In their moments of panic, the show depicts them trying to run and their legs go round and round in circles as they try to run away quickly without having any prior momentum. Humans are not high performance sports cars that can go 0 to 100 in 3 seconds. It is difficult to enact complete and total change in our lives all at once and still have the change feel sustainable and also feel good. This means that we have to negotiate with ourselves to figure out the next small change and make small progress over time rather than all at once. 

In addition, we humans will always feel a draw back to what feels comfortable, protective and manageable. Change in and of itself can be highly uncomfortable. And at times we might question why we really want to change at all. These can be worthy explorations. But all small changes and small progress allows us to develop more comfort in the change process which can help it feel better to get outside our comfort zone. There is almost always a need to build momentum toward our goals rather than trying to do it all at once. 

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Jon Wisdom, LCSW received his Master of Social Work degree, specializing in Trauma and Violence, from Boston University in a dual-degree program where he also received a Master of Divinity. Previously he worked as an interfaith hospital chaplain and holds a masters degree in Spiritual Care. Jon has pursued this integrated learning with the hope of working with queer individuals with religious trauma. As a queer man, he knows this is a complex issue that requires a lot of existential exploration which can be personally challenging.

In practice, Jon prioritizes affirming and patient-centered care. He uses modalities such as Phase Oriented Trauma Treatment, Motivational Interviewing (MI), Solution Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), narrative approaches, psychodynamics and operates with an anti-oppression framework. His goal as a therapist is to provide space for his clients to come as they are and for them to know that they have inherent worth and value.

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