Musings from a therapist’s therapy

When was the last time you asked for exactly what you needed? 

If you want success in therapy, you have to be an active participant. And that means asking for what you need.

Here are a few “behind the scenes” moments from my own Somatic Therapy session as a client:

I was working with my therapist on something that can carry a lot of shame in my body. And I knew I needed to heal it, but to be honest, I was nervous my therapist was going to judge me.

I mean, I'm a therapist, too! Maybe we're not supposed to be human? Or maybe we're just supposed to know everything. I know logically that's not true, but when we're dealing with shame, logical thoughts don't usually play a big role.

Anyway, at this specific moment, I asked my therapist to tell me, directly, that there was nothing wrong with me. I asked him to tell me that he wouldn't judge me.

I needed to hear exactly that. So I asked for it.

And because I asked, he said it.

It was one of the most healing sessions I've ever had.

I told my therapist how grateful I was that he was so specific. He mentioned he couldn’t have supported me like that if hadn’t been honest, and asked.

So here’s the takeaway from my experience. 

Ask for what you need. Especially in therapy. Your therapist is there to support you and guide you, and they can’t do that if they don’t know what you need...

As a Somatic Therapist I create the trust and safety necessary for deep work to happen.