Secrets
Someone sent me a link to an interesting collection of short tales about being a locum (temporary stand-in) psychiatrist. Here's the last one, echoing, in a way, what 7 Cups is sometimes for:
People...confide secrets to strangers. We all need to unburden in a way that wont come back to bite us...
This woman Im seeing for our final visit (I leave that week) tells me a secret, a painful memory she hadnt told any of her former therapists over many years.
You know Im leaving, I remind her. Why are you telling me this?
Because youre leaving.
It is as if she wanted me to take that secret with me. As if shed never told others because shed have to look at it, talk about, and deal with it whereas she wanted only to be done with it, rid of it, her path to healing being that of avoiding pain, not revisiting it. Mindful that for everything there is a season I am comfortable respecting this...I dont include her secret in my final note.
Read the rest here: Locum Psychiatric Practice: Unexpected, Unheralded Benefits
Charlie
@RarelyCharlie That was a great read. Sometimes to follow the spirit of the rule we need to break the rules. Thanks for sharing!
@RarelyCharlie
im so glad you posted this charlie this has made me think about several different things i never considered i think the great expectation of a long term therapeutic relationship is that over time as a relationship builds more secrets will be revealed and that is true over time trust is gained and more is revealed but i can see now why a person would be less open with some things with a long term listener or long term therapist than a passing anonymous stranger its something ive actually been confused about and was feeling bad about for a while now what was i saying that was wrong or not saying if only i could figure it out (and i have a different perspective now on therapists who get frustrated and dont think whats behind their frustration is simply impatience and can see how its more than that how a therapist having the expectation that more or all serets will be revealed and have that not happen can make a therapist confused and affect their self confidence and a lot of different feelings) i can see how a therapist could get frustrated and not feel like things are not working when in fact things are working fine just not as the therapist has expected
the listener on 7cups is frequently both a long term and short term listener both a passing completely anonymous stranger one will never see again and someone that will be seen again and if there is no end date where the listener will ride off into the sunset taking their secrets with them to never see them again (and that makes me thing of the benifts of writing things down and actually burning the paper its written on the same concept basically) it does make sense that a person could become more guarded with some thing as a relationship develops more guarded with things the person feels could cause a risk for a relationship they care about and dont want to put at any risk so im seeing things from a few new perspectives and given me more understanding i think
thanks for sharing charlie im glad this was publishes where therapists could see it and i hope a lot of long term listeners see this this would be a good thing to have in listener learning and journey community also