[MINIME]

I have been in therpay for almost a year so by no means am I an expert. I do however think alot and have some thoughts I would like to put out there.
There is all this talk of imbalence of power in therapy....that the therapist has all the power over the client. There are so many rules and ethics. I think that its a good idea to have ethics and boundries in place in the therapy world.
I also believe that the human element has been stripped out of therapy. That in therapy school they must have a class called how to make your client feel like about an inch big. Of course I am not saying all therapists are this way in fact mine are the opposite.
I think that caring is a deep essential factor is healing a person. WHo would want to spend hours and hours talking to someone who listened but did not show compassion empathy or care. Someone who could keep a blank face when you told them about the worst night in your life. Yuck.
I think that therapy is about the relationship before the issues in certian cases.
I dont go to therapy so my therapists can say well I learned in this class that what you are thinking is called....or what you are doing is called...and we treat it this way..... sigh sigh sigh and yuck. Of course the schooling is very important but it has to be integraded into the caring relationship so it flows out naturally. It comes out in compassion and care.
I think that is some therapists offices it feels like client verses therapist from what I have read in here and read other places. Where the therapist says in subtle ways you are ill and I am not and therefore you will listen and do what I suggest or its to bad.
Or is some therapy the therapist is so stuck in one way of therapy that there is a cookie cutter type treatment for each diagnosis. So that if a client needs something different the therapist is at a loss and the client is made to feel like she did something wrong.
I just think that therapy has started to become some sort of mysteroius cloud. I think that therapy should always be about what the client needs if its healthy and approperiate. I guess that I am sad when i read of people who have needs or issues with their therapist that ends up making the client feel needy or like they are doing something wrong.
Im not saying all therapists are like this of course. I have two great therapists. I just wish that in therapy school they taught a class called you do not know everything and if you listen to your client long nough you will see what she needs from you. I think that we need to get back to being human beings that connect with one another to heal. I know that boundries are good and I am not saying that we should not have them but they seemed to have gone so far on the side of protecting the client from harm that we are harming them as a side effect. I dont know. Im just a client...

So much wisdom there, minime!!!

I am SO lucky, because my T truly believes that I *know* what I need to heal, and he always, always gives it to me, even if it seems like something silly at the time. He's willing to just try anything and see how it plays out. He never, ever makes me feel needy or sick.

I am glad that you have such awesome Ts too, minime. Everyone deserves that kind of caring...

Thanks for your thoughtful post....someone should print it and send it off to "T School"!

[sittingatwatersedge]

Wow, minime!!! reading your post was like a fireworks display.
If there ever IS a course for therapists called You Do Not Know Everything (lol), your list should be required reading. good job!!!!!

You rock Minime! I hear ya!

[02221983]

If you don't mind i am going to print this and take it to me "T" so she can see that all clients are not the same and we have different needs. and a hug every now and then does not hurt. what hurts is to hear her say that i don't do that for the other client so therefore can't do that for you BS....

Thank you Minim