Things Your Therapist is Thinking…

I’m going to let you in on a little secret - we therapists are human too! I know, it’s shocking, but stick with me here.

It’s true that while we’re sharing wonderful insights, reflecting feelings, validating your experience and overall sounding so professional (on a good day) - we’re just human beings sitting there with you. Here are some things we are thinking before, during or after our sessions.

• You’re my favorite/least favorite client.

• I wasn’t looking forward to/super looked forward to our session today.

• You’re a cool human - I wish we could be friends.

• Did I remember to run the dishwasher/turn off the iron/feed the dog this morning?

• I hope I don’t yawn…don’t yawn…don’t yawn…dang I hope they didn’t just see me yawn.

• I’ve totally felt that way too. Actually, you handled that situation a little better than I did!

• I lost someone I loved too, now I’m missing them and I hope you don’t see my tears coming.

• Oops, I said something pretty stupid there. I hope that didn’t wreck our relationship. I will rehearse how to bring this up next time, or apologize when we meet again.

• I have no idea what to say to you right now in this moment.

• You’re sitting in my chair, but I will act as though there’s no such thing as my chair.

• I wish I could punch your dad/mom/grandfather/grandmother/brother in the face for how they treated you.

• I think about how to help you or what interventions will work best in the most random moments outside of our sessions.

• I love seeing your dog/cat/baby/sibling/family when we’re using telehealth.

• I love the decrease in power differential and increase in connection that telehealth provides. I get to meet you in your space with your own comfort items nearby and it’s such a beautiful thing to see into your space.

• I still think about clients I’ve lost to overdose deaths or other causes randomly all the time - even years later.

• I hope you can’t tell that at times I doubt myself as a therapist.

• When you say, “I never thought of it that way”, I get very excited.

• I want you to see yourself the way I see you - as strong, smart, resilient, capable, insightful, funny, and all the other positive things that you typically deny about yourself.

• Your dad/mom/caregiver was wrong in how they treated you - you deserved better and I’m devastated that you didn’t get what you needed.

• My silence is purposeful - you need to hear yourself and I can actually see your gears turning right now.

• I sometimes have no answers for you - not even half of a quarter of a fraction of an answer.

• I wish I could give you the gift of magical healing - poof - the problem you came here with is solved!

• I’m so often overwhelmed with gratefulness that you’re choosing to share the deepest parts of yourself with me, and that I have even a small part in your healing - this is so endlessly amazing to me.