“Shana Rishona Gift is primarily to help struggling newlywed couples (like Estee and Yonah), but also to remove the general stigma of therapy in our circles”
Regarding last week’s Double Take, I wish I could address the client and the therapist separately.
First to Sari, the client: Therapy, when the client/clinician relationship is a good fit, can really be lifesaving. It is so hard when clinicians have to go away, be it on vacation, maternity leave, or the occasional flu.
Death is one of those “natural disasters” that we often don’t see coming, as was the case for your therapist. I totally get how frustrating the entire experience was, especially the lack of apology for your session rupture. And (not but!) there is the thing that kept niggling at my brain: Therapists are human and not above human emotions. A death, especially a sudden one, often induces a “grief brain” where the person isn’t in their regular state of mind for the moment. Your therapist was being responsible and saying: I can’t do harm to the client and that’s what will happen if I go in. (Read on for what I think she could have done….)
I think as a community we have created a scenario in our minds where therapists must be superhuman and do the impossible. I also found it painful to read lines like “her mother was not even so young.” Loss is loss is loss is loss. You can’t measure what the “right” reaction should be, based on any factors.
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