I really, really hate that moment when I meet someone new and they ask me what I do for a living. While I know it is part of the “getting to know you” dance, it calls on me to disclose that I am a therapist. Some of them appear fascinated with gory details about the wreckage of people’s lives, especially when they find out I specialize in the field of trauma therapy. Others appear to find the profession distasteful, as though the very mention of the field leaves a bad taste in their mouth. I fear, I am a deep disappointment to individuals in both of those groups. I am not willing to share tales of therapy for others to be entertained or even worse, to assure themselves they are not “that bad…” I am also not willing to belittle a profession that I value.

It is amusing to see people’s reaction when I share I see quite a few counselors and therapists in my practice. I see the confusion float across their face before they school themselves. Their struggle with why a therapist would need to see another therapist is evident in their expression and the brave ones actually verbalize their thoughts. Others suddenly elevate my skills, as though I am a star amount the elite. My skills and knowledge must be amazing if other therapists choose me. I am rarely able to maintain my composure at this and often chuckle out loud at their assumptions.

So, the truth is… therapy is a sacred place where I am honored and humbled to connect and care for all of my clients. It is a place where the wounds of the past and the pain of today meet unconditional love and compassion, and sometimes moments of caring silence. Therapy is a sacred place where people come to let their masks slip away and they can be their most authentic selves. Therapy is a sacred place where people can explore parts of self they want to cling to, let go of, or bring into their life. Therapy can be messy, heart wrenching, and ultimately healing. Therapy is a sacred place because it is grounded in faith, in ourselves and each other, and many times in God. Therapy is a sacred place because while I bring my eight years of academic preparation and decades of professional experience, the most powerful thing I bring to this place is me. Not a perfected facade of me. I bring the real deal. The woman who loves deeply, thinks deeply, takes risks, misses the mark, falls on her face in the mud is the one who shows up in my therapy office. The woman who loves life and loves my clients. The woman who gets scared and feels shame. The woman who breathes deeply and grieves deeply. The woman my clients see is not a star, just another human being on a journey that remains unclear to me. And yet, every step I take on this journey is an adventure.

Why do therapists go to therapy? Because they are complicated human beings with their own history of pain and joy etched on their hearts. They go to therapy because they believe in this sacred place where they can peek inside of their soul and explore this amazing adventure called life. They go to therapy because they need to breathe and understand. And breathe again. They need a witness to their own sacred process so they can be that for those who enter their sacred space. My witness is named Deb and I dedicate this blog post to her for all the ways she has created a sacred space for me to simply be me. Thank you seem like fallen words upon a page when I reflect on the gratitude I feel for our time together. But because this writer has no greater prose, I simply say, Thank you.