Therapy exposes how the action or inaction of others in our past burdened us. This may include abuse, absent parents, verbal and physical violence, divorce, but also lack of boundaries, neglect, high expectations, emotional poverty, harshness and rejection.
Therapy also puts us in touch with parts of ourselves that we are ashamed of, neglect or cover up. Furthermore, it shows the unhealthy ways we deal with our difficulties, such as addictions, (avoiding) conflict, pleasing or perfectionism.
Enrich your life
By lovingly attending to these challenges, therapy can enrich our lives in three ways.
First, therapy reduces our suffering. By letting go of old pain and emotional burdens, we have lees need for unhealthy coping and experience less emptiness, despair, anger, inferiority, fear or sadness. Therapy does not offer a recipe for a pain-free life, but it does offer more inner peace and firmness.
Second, therapy makes us freer, happier, more resilient and vital. We feel better about ourselves and connect more easily with others. Plus, when we anchor love, safety, and validation within ourselves, we become more authentic and approachable.
Third, therapy opens a path to maturity and personal development. Trauma imprisons us and commands our attention, but healing frees up space and energy for growth. In brings us into contact with our deepest needs, emotions, qualities and desires, which give direction and purpose to our lives.
Feel safe and seen
Therapy revolves around the relational nature of human beings. After all, we exist and grow within the relationship with ourselves, others and the world around us. This means that our challenges and hidden potential are interrelated and that a holistic view is needed that goes beyond our symptoms.
For this reason, we do not have patients but clients. We do not work with DSM diagnoses because this tends to stigmatise, but look for a more humane understanding of why people do what they do and what they need for a better life. This makes clients feel safe and seen when they work with us.