A recent pause in the rhythm of work has me thinking about the unique gifts of the work I do as a psychotherapist.  There is a special joy and privilege in accompanying clients as they find their way through a thicket of difficulties.  Sharing their pain, their fears, their hopes, and their very humanness is a powerful, transformative experience for the therapist as well as the client.

Yet for the important reasons of ethics and confidentiality, I rarely get to talk about this aspect of my work and the wonderful meeting and knowing of fellow human travelers that is the inspiration for my own journey. I wish I had the right to brag, not for myself, but for my clients, for their hard-fought visions of new opportunities, for their victories over long-held fears, for their motivation and dedication to transform themselves, their relationships, and their lives. It’s not that I need to take any credit for these marvels, but rather that I want to be able to share my joy for them with my friends and loved ones, wishing this joy on the larger community that might benefit from an inspirational pause in the rush of daily life.

And I have wanted to let my clients know how their journeys have inspired me to enlarge my vision of my own path.  I have learned so much from them.  I know that’s not what brought them to therapy.  They were looking for help and hoped they would find it in me.  But what I encounter in therapy everyday is the continual reminder that growth and change can happen only when a person is willing. Therapy is only helpful to clients able to make use of it.  Of course, part of therapy is teaching clients how to do that, how to take part in the process and shape it to their own needs.  There is helping and teaching and giving in therapy.  But it’s also a two-way street.  With every new client I get to know, I learn something that informs my practice.  And with every person who shares their struggles with me, I benefit personally from the human experience of knowing and accompanying them.

I wish I could say more, be more specific, give examples, but that would be breaking the very promises of privacy and discretion that make the therapeutic encounter possible.  So what I am left with to say instead is, “Thanks,” to all the folks who find their way to my office, rearrange their work or personal or social lives, make room for therapy, have the courage to believe in themselves and the process, and give me the honor of working with them.