8 Things I learned in my first 3 years as a therapist (and what you can learn as a client in therapy with me!)

The power of validation: So important to validate first, especially for clients who have been through trauma or chronic invalidation by parents. This helps them emotionally regulate so that they can get to a point to use skills or problem solve.

Some people who suffer from mental illness aren’t yet ready to change, and that’s ok. I want to meet clients where they’re at and gently work with their parts that are keeping them from changing. 

Knowing that every “mental illness” is actually just an inner child part that is trying their best to protect you. This can be SO hard to do for those parts that hurt others, but has been a gamechanger for my work as a therapist.

Everyone is doing the best they can AND they can try harder. I truly have to have compassion for everyone who is struggling because who would actually want to have depression, anxiety, chronic illness, etc.???

What works for some people (or even most people) may not work for you. I always want to encourage people to listen to their own bodies and experiences and treat themselves as their own experiment of 1. You can listen to the advice of others, but don’t take their word as gospel until you try it for yourself.

Our subconscious plays a much bigger role than we consciously know. These unseen forces shape our behavior and actions, and its hard to change until we bring it to our conscious awareness first.

Therapy (and any human to human interaction) is an energy exchange, and we are truly all connected. As humans, we all have the capacity to feel one another’s emotions and be affected by someone else’s mood (especially for those who are more sensitive and intuitive). This is why I do an energy protection and clearing exercise before and after each session.

Everything in life is a mirror. Our own beliefs and inner world shape the way we perceive our outer world. Other people around us who trigger us can show us where our wounds are and what we need to change within ourselves (because we cannot control others, we can only control ourselves!)