Specials

I’ve been trying to make my workplace more like a restaurant. On the white board, I wrote the specials:

Ways I can Help

Sometimes, people come to therapy after watching a movie that featured a therapist and/or they just have ideas in their imaginations that are not accurate. Over the past year, I’ve had one person yell, “You are supposed to fix this!” and two people who refused to leave when the hour was up. Only about 2 out of 20 people are challenging to work with (most people are sweet and just trying to sort some things out). Still, I have found solace in being able to point to the white board and say, “These are the ways I can help.”

A therapy hour is 53 minutes. That might not seem like a big deal, but when its your only time to use the bathroom…it matters. After a few years, you can write the note during that time, say a prayer (well, you can do that the whole time), take 3 minutes of deep breathing (blow out the candle, smell the flower), and touch your toes/stretch.

There are people who think that therapy is a friendship….it’s not. Friendships are reciprocal–meaning that if friendship were compared to a tennis match…the ball is going back and forth. I didn’t always get that. When I was young, I was a world class monologuer. One of the kids recently told me that their school counselor teaches the kids friendship skills. That is great news!!!

Therapy is also not like a massage or something else that is completely for your comfort. Therapy for mental health is more similar to Physical Therapy. Its going to be work in the short-term and the result is less pain in the long-term. Its letting go of the false idea that we know everything and welcoming in a reality that all of us have lessons to new and skills to gain or strengthen.

Happy Saturday!

Love,

Terra Rose