I spend a lot of time searching for metaphors to help my T understand my particular experience with cPTSD and all that comes with it. She's very aware and knowledgable about cPTSD, but even so, I think it helps her to understand and see me through metaphors and other kinds of imagery. Here's a poem I wrote recently. I want neither "This sucks" nor "This is a great poem"; what I want is to share with you all a way in which I can allow myself - through the shame and self-disgust - to be seen by my T. Do you have ways of doing this? Are you aware when you are able to let your T 'see' you? What does being 'seen' even mean to you?

So help me find the metaphor of childhood
With which I can help you understand
What was stolen.

Take a snowflake, matchless in all the world,
Drifting from the sky.
Unique.

Ordinary flowers, full of color and warm spring weather,
Delicate harbingers of life and hope.
Nurturing.

Look no further than a mother bear with her cubs
To find what protection means.
Safety.

Every life bursts forth with possibility,
Like a flock of birds rising as one.
Exploring.

New eyes that see the world in new ways,
Unbound by yesterday.
Creativity.