A Dancing Therapist

I dance in my office sometimes, with the window shades drawn, the door closed, and the music down low. I dance to electronic music with absurd lyrics, pop beats and ridiculous riffs. I dance in ways I wouldn't show to my friends or family, awfully silly and over-the-top, arms flailing and legs in the air. …

It’s Better to Burn Out… Or Is It? Nah, Not Really.

Well, I'm finally headed back to see my therapist today, for the first time since November. It's a little nerve-wracking. I feel like a dog with my tail between my legs, for no reason at all except that I stopped scheduling appointments with him out of the blue back in November and never sent an …

Therapizing the Therapist

So, over the past 8ish months, I have been working as a therapist intern at an inner-city substance abuse treatment facility. It's been incredibly eye-opening, both from a professional standpoint, and a personal one. During supervision sessions, I've spent a lot of time talking about why clients do the things they do. Why do they …

What Matters Most is How Well You Walk Through the Fire

It’s 11:45am and I’m standing at the train station waiting to go to work, the sky hanging low and heavy with the promise of sleet. I'm late. I’ve just finished my morning internship shift, where I processed two clients out of our therapeutic relationship together because they’re both graduating next week, and I’m feeling pensive …

On the path from healing to healer

On Friday last week, I nervously walked into a drug and alcohol counseling clinic near downtown, my heart fluttering. I went up to the front desk and was greeted by a friendly assistant, and told her that I was there to meet a man named Ben. She nodded, and told me she would call him …