We Are All On The Path. Yes, Your Therapist Too!

There is often an unconscious assumption that one's therapist, be that a psychologist, counsellor, healer, etc., has it all figured out and that only healed people can heal others. This is not true, nor should it be expected. Even the great icons of therapeutic pathways/ methods had their challenges. It's primarily what they learned from those challenges that brought them to be known.

That said, your therapist should be very experienced in their area of speciality, both in theory and in life. However, to expect them to be fully healed is misguided. We are all a work in progress, and there are times when we all can get lost and are unable to see the forest for the trees. Sometimes it's very hard to see what is at the core of some issues, as we may be overwhelmed by other emotions, blocks and projected beliefs that get in the way.

I have recently fully awakened to something in my own healing path that has clarified so much of what I have been moving through in the last 18 months. I have been digging for months trying to get to the core of it, but with a combination of unconscious resistance and a deep sense of inner grief, I found it very challenging to source. I did call out for help several times, but what I chose didn't quite reach the core. As many other therapists will attest, sometimes it's damn hard to heal yourself when you are the one blocking your own way!

Out of sheer determination, tons of journaling and self-reflection, as I, for some reason, was unable to journey inward as I would normally, I finally got to the point where I found the base core of all the wounded threads. ’Yep, that's the bottom line of why nothing else seems to be holding for long, and I am blocked from access within for my own healing. Once seen and accepted, a trusted name of someone I trust via experience popped into my mind. Why hadn’t I thought of them all this time? Why didn’t I go to them before? I know, it sounds trite, but I clearly wasn’t ready.

There were so many layers to wade through and a few red herrings before I could see it clearly. I have been told in the past that I am too clever for my own good at times, and what they meant by that was that I am good at therapeutically bypassing due to my knowledge.

When that person's name popped into my head, I wasted no time and inquired to see if they were available. They confirmed swiftly. I had 5 days to wait. On the day of the session, I awoke to bucket loads of resistance. ‘What’s the point? It's not going to work; this isn’t going to change anything! Blah blah blah. The inner fearful critic was nonstop.

The more resistance I have to clearing up an issue, the more I know something is about to shift if I stay the course. Even as they were running a few minutes late, I was still hoping for an out. Maybe something is wrong at their end, and we can postpone. Oh, wouldn’t that be good! Or would it? The hope vanished as their Zoom link popped up. I grabbed hold of the tissue box and dived right in, along with telling them of my resistance that was peaking.

I have always found that being honest as a client helps the therapist zero in on what's important.

After sharing what I felt was at the core and being asked a few key questions, they made an insightful decision on which technique would resonate with my issue best. As we progressed through the chosen technique, something I had never done before but made so much damn sense, the shift came.

A natural dislodging of tears flowed. Trauma arose and left, arose again and again and left, to finally settle into a calming sense of wholeness. The process incorporated all of the layers of pain along with a deep understanding of why it had become so difficult for me to clear it.

Another valuable technique for my medicine bag.


The last 18 months of inner struggle were released. And after a few more sessions to make sure nothing was left unturned, wholeness feels like a soft, warm robe of nourishment and inner safety.

Eighteen months is a very short time in the span of an adult life; in all honesty, it has felt like eighteen years at times, hence the relief is even more pronounced.

As a therapist, I feel it's important to be genuine and honest with myself and with my clients and those who follow me. My first book, The Bridge Between Two Worlds. A shaman's view of schizophrenia & Acute sensitivity came out of a deep sense of trying to understand my acute sensitivity, and from then on, I have never hidden my sensitivity or vulnerability and am glad of it.

My novel, Voices Within, speaks of the journey of someone going through the dark night of the soul and coming out the other side. Jung would call it 'The Hero's Journey.' I feel it's important to show growth and progress as a therapist for clients to see that we never stop growing and we need to be our own advocates for that growth. The path of consciousness is not for the light-hearted, but the path can bring you to places of pure, authentic light-heartedness when the debris has been cleared.

One of the main strengths when all else seemed to fall away has been my willpower. Or as a dear friend of mine said recently, “Heart power” I wonder if you feel the same? The will/heart power to keep going, no matter how dark it gets or lost you may feel. That will/heart power can give us the strength to make it through to find or let go of what is needed to move ahead. Then, if those challenges become narratives of growth, they can be a guidepost of how to get through for others.

Your therapist/guide has chosen to be a spiritual being living a human experience just like you. I feel that, as therapists/healers/facilitators/guides, we need to actively tread the path and face what comes authentically, just like everyone else.

The skills we learn to help us through also help us to grow and be better therapists. Our path is the journey of reclaiming what will bring us home to WHOLENESS. Therapists and clients alike.

On the 23rd of June, I will be going into a silent retreat till the 7th of July. Now the wholeness has been restored, I want to fill up my cup and to do that, I need to step out of the buzzing matrix for a while to ground and hone that inner calm.

May all beings be free from suffering

May we all remember the essence of who we are beyond our earthsuit form.

Blessings

Odette