One Thing I Learned From a Client:

I learned that people can hold on to a belief for years not because it is true, but because it once helped them survive. A client shared the belief of being “too broken to be fixed.” Instead of challenging it right away, I got curious about how that belief originally protected them.

What I learned is this:

Even the most painful self-beliefs often started as protection. When I approached it with respect instead of a simple "let's try to reframe", the client could see it as something learned rather than something they are. That shift mattered.

My clients have taught me the need to be very attentive and attuned to shifts in their emotional states in sessions. If I can bring awareness of when I observe an individual’s behavior or words indicating to me that they are uncomfortable, for example, then we can explore what’s happening in the here-and-now so they will understand their real-world experiences with more clarity. I didn’t learn that from school or training or reading a book, my clients taught me the importance of this, even if they didn’t know they did.

I was working on a book with this exact content.

I have been practicing for 16 years first in a private psychiatrist hospital - then an opioid outpatient practice with therapy and now in private practice - I have learned more in the chair from those sitting on the couch. To think of a specific situation over 16 years would be impossible - it happens every week.