In the client-therapist or patient-practitioner relationship, there is a clear exchange – you obviously pay me for my therapeutic skills and time. But at its best this relationship can mean so much more, and I want to honour and appreciate that.
I have a principle in my work of holding you in the highest personal regard (which means that, even if I might sometimes find your behaviour or opinions challenging or contrary to my own values, I come from a place of acceptance that you have a right to be exactly as you are). And I constantly hold an awareness that we are all flawed individuals, generally trying our best, often struggling with how our internal world (which holds lots of old baggage) interacts with the outside world we engage with. That’s me included.
I hope and trust that if you come and see me you will find a real person with whom you can connect – not for me the remote and enigmatic clinician, in a white coat, exuding an air of knowing everything about you better than you know yourself. I aim to work with you as a shared endeavour, whether it’s in-depth delving in the course of acupuncture treatments really getting to know what underlies your symptoms; or spending a silent half hour of focused Zero Balancing exploring, through the touch of your clothed body, how tension in your frame reflects tension in your life. These are not one way processes, they are a giving and receiving of verbal and non-verbal communication, of humour, of stories, of time, and above all, of trust.
So when, this week, one of my Zero Balancing clients brought me these beautiful pale-gold gerberas, and an acupuncture patient gave me a selection of teabags – I knew they were expressing their appreciation of what we do together. I don’t need presents, though. What they probably scarcely realise is how much I get out of working with them – with you, if you’re a client reading this, or a potential future client.
I am honoured and privileged to have you place your trust in me, to share with me your troubles, your breakthroughs, your family dramas or joys, your darkest fears, your hopes and yearnings. Some of my clients knew me before I had children (now 20 and 17), when my hair was waist-length and dark brown, when I was a lot younger than most of the people who consulted me. So, while by now I know those people very very well, they also know a part of me very well. And the clarity of that relationship, something essential about the connection we have in the treatment room, means that I love my work profoundly.
So thank you, dear clients, for being who you are. That is the gift you bring me.
Our therapeutic relationship often starts with an email or phone call – call me on 07970 295177 or email rosanna@tree-of-life-therapy.co.uk
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