Therapy is hard. As a client waits for their therapist to connect through an electronic link for a first session, thoughts and feelings are often racing through their head. Do I say this? Is this too much to share? I wonder what the therapist is going to think of me? Tears may start flowing. A client may momentarily forget what they wanted to share at the beginning. Sometimes, a flustered client will say, "can you just ask me questions"?
It isn't easy to start therapy for anyone. By scheduling an appointment, you have already disclosed at some level that you are in a vulnerable state and have tried to resolve these issues on your own. I am sensitive to this, and extend empathy and genuine concern. I want to help you, so I will try to extricate gently the puzzle that is you. We are all puzzles, comprised of many pieces. Collecting the pieces is one of the first steps in therapy that helps us to move forward, because knowing you, your needs, and your strengths will guide how we move forward.
I learn many things from my clients. I learn that people have an enormous ability to cope with loss, trauma, abuse, and pain. I learn that some events are so swift and so cutting, that every moment of the client's life from then on will be impacted, somehow, by that event. I learn that sometimes, the people who lock our homes before bed are the scarier than the people the locks are designed to keep out.
I learn that love and faith and humor can conquer many situations. I learn that every single person is capable of positive change. Every single one of us. Pain can be healed. Lives can be more fulfilling than you might imagine. I am humbled by all that I learn, and that I have the honor and trust to have helped so many. Reach out....let's learn from each other.
Tammi Imel MA LMHC
Owner & Licensed Mental Health Counselor