What I learnt from my very first client!
The client, aged in his late 30s, was troubled with ongoing severe mental health challenges.
I’ll never forget seeing my very first client place his arm over Blaze as they walked together, in sync, like two old souls who had known each other a lifetime. It was heart-warming; naturally, the client wanted to come back for more, and I'm so glad because I wanted more too.
They say when you are on the right path, it will energise you, and I couldn’t agree more.
In one of my darkest hours, as a newly single mum of two young children, I stepped into the unknown. Having hit rock bottom meant I didn’t have much further to fall if things didn’t go to plan. I was equally terrified and exhilarated, which peaked moments before my very first client arrived and then, it happened. Two souls connecting, as Brené Brown says, “Connection is why we’re here; it is what gives meaning and purpose to our lives.”
It was palpable! The client, aged in his late 30s, was troubled with ongoing and severe mental health challenges. His support worker was in awe as together we shared in the experience of what happens when someone feels accepted, seen and valued.
It is not knowledge, it is not words, it is not an expert and a sufferer; it is a collective of equals contributing to an experience that must be felt to be understood.
Not surprisingly, my first client session was not an isolated case, difficult to put into words, but something other practitioners know so well, it is nothing short of a completely rewarding and fulfilling role that often has me questioning if I should be paying someone for what I have been part of and not the other way around.
I truly believe that in offering a therapeutic service, you must be energised, rewarded, and completely fulfilled by what you do. That is, of course, what fuels you to keep doing it after all.