Recently, I had a client tell me how ze (gender neutral pronoun) applied some of the coping skills learned in therapy. I had to pinch myself to stop myself from feeling emotional because I was so happy for this client! This is a client that struggled a lot with worrying and overthinking. In our previous meetings, we discussed some “in the moment” (e.g. heightened emotions) and “out of the moment” (e.g. idly sitting, spending time with friends) skills ze could apply.
Ze shared an incident in which ze felt really panicked, but applied a technique we discussed which significantly reduced the duration of ze’s panic. Ze also mentioned a time in which ze had so many racing thoughts but was able to use a cognitive skill to come back from those thoughts.
It was absolutely amazing to sit across from ze and to hear about all the changes that happened. Ze also reconnected with someone who hadn’t seen ze prior to counseling and commented on how much ze had changed. It was an affirmation not only to ze and the work that ze has put into counseling, but I’ll admit it, it was an affirmation for me too, to know that I helped to support ze’s change.
So, times like these are the ones that keep me going when the going gets tough. [I’m looking at you documentation!]
That’s awesome Dee! The hard work does pay off and it is amazing when you get through to someone like that.