You may have heard of having a relationship with your therapist when you’re in therapy but may not have given thought to your therapist’s relationship with you. To be clear, the relationship your therapist has with you is professional but not superficial. Your therapist cares about you and your wellbeing.
I think back to the clients I have seen over the years and have not forgotten them. I wonder how they are, how their lives have changed, and how much they continue to make progress. When I’m seeing a client, thought goes into understanding them and finding ways to help them move forward. I think about my clients, their growth, and their happiness. When clients move on and sessions have ended, I think of them as moving “out of the nest.” My job is to help them remove obstacles in their path, to teach them the skills they need to move on, to help them express thoughts and feelings more freely, and most importantly, to move on without therapy (outside of the occasional “tune-ups” which I’ll save for another blog).
Clients have shared with me that they sometimes say to themselves, “what would Melodie say?” when making decisions or trying to change patterns. The goal of therapy is to help the people who come into my office take what is processed and learned in therapy and apply it outside of therapy. Just as clients continue to grow in therapy, I am constantly learning from them and growing as a therapist. Maybe the relationship does not end even when therapy does. It feels good to know that the work we do together makes a difference.
I love what I do. I care about my clients and have a relationship with each and every one of them. I will not forget them or what I have learned from them.
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