In the world of psychotherapy, the “installation of hope” is a key part of what the therapist attempts to do to help the client continue their healing process. Yet the phrase “installation” minimizes the role the client plays in their own recovery. I prefer the term, “empowering hope.” 

From an empowering hope perspective, anyone can be do the “powering”: the person who is in temporary despair, a loving friend or family member, or–yes–a therapist. But I want to focus on the person seeking help. Why would a client seek therapy services if there wasn’t at least a small part of them that was hopeful that therapy might help? But it got me wondering, is hope about a person’s confidence in their at least occasional ability to attain a goal (“I have a general power to effect change”) or a trust in the future and powers outside ourselves (“I am hopeful things will work out” or with greater confidence “I trust God (or some higher power) will help me”.

What then is the relationship between hope and faith (both imply some trust in things or goals as yet unseen)? Are demoralization (no hope), hope and trust/faith on a continuum? When (or if) does relying on some other force to save us weaken our resolve to act on our own behalf? I don’t claim to have the answers but they seem like questions worth exploring. I also suspect everyone’s answer to these questions might legitimately different.

It’s Always Darkest Before the Dawn

The writer in me recognizes how central empowering hope is in the stories and myths that we as a culture offer up to one another. The hero or heroine is almost ready to give up hope before someone or something spurs them on to continue in the fight. Hope is (or ideally will be) a critical part of the narratives we tell about our own lives.

Some Thoughts to Counter Despair, Should You Need Them

You’re reading a post about hope. Not everyone is willing to contemplate it.

Have you owned whatever dilemma that you face? If so, not everyone does. .

Recognize the steps you’ve already taken. Just because you haven’t reached your hoped for destination, you’re on the journey.

You have strengths and resources that will serve you well.

You’re showing courage and resolve.

Listen to those who have hope for you. Let them hold it for you, if you’re not quite ready to retake it for yourself.

Empowering Hope Inside of You

We all have a schema or matrix of important concepts in our lives. Schemas are clusters of thoughts, feelings, behaviors and values that interact with each other around key ideas or feelings. Most of us have grappled from time to time with just what Love means to us. Perhaps you’ve taken some time to consider what Forgiveness or Faith looks like for you. But speaking for myself I haven’t really spent much time considering just what thoughts, feelings, behaviors, beliefs and values comprise Hope for me. Maybe it’s high time I did!.

Some Questions to Consider

What does hope feel like for you?

What do you believe about hope?

How do you act when you are hopeful? Despairing?

What has given you hope in the past?

When have you felt your hopes were dashed?

How or if did you rediscover hope after painful disillusionment?

Is hope for suckers or is it part of a powerful human resilience?

Who holds hope for you even when its hard to hold it for yourself?

Mark Carlson-Ghost

Make a comment about hope if the spirit moves you and in all likelihood I’ll post it. I’d love to get a discussion going about it.

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