Things I've Learned from my Clients This Week...

I wish I had more time to write....I learn so many things from the people I work with and am so grateful for that.  What struck me this week, and I can say I think about this with some regularity, is that there is so much more than meets the eye~people are very layered and complex.  Everyone has a story.  I do the work that I do because I want to know what that story is.  I want to understand the the composition of a person, how they became who they are.  Occasionally I am confronted with the fact that I may  have a preconceived notion of who someone is without awareness of that until they show me how wrong I am.  These notions or assumptions of capability, history, intelligence, knowledge base, have significant influence over the subtleties of our interactions; they interfere with our ability to see what someone really brings to the table.  If I want to know someone's story, I can't allow my narrative about them to interfere with their telling of it.  The strata of each individual is exposed only with curiosity and safety; what blocks sharing often times is not in who sits across from me but rather what is in my own mind.  Typically, I am inclined to idealize my clients. I authentically feel honored to work with them, touched by what they share with me, and curious about how things will unfold in their lives.  I think it takes a lot of guts to walk into someone's office and tell them very personal and painful things.  These are people I have a lot of regard for.  While that is nice, it's still my own narrative that I have developed about them and will at some point in our work interfere.  So, what was emphasized for me this week was the value of a clean canvas that is filled in with the color of someone else's perspective; I need to keep my hands off the paintbrush.

DID support group Start Date Changed

The DID Experience group has changed the start date to next Wednesday.  It will be an open group so participants can start after that date.  Every other Wednesday at 2pm.