You are the expert on your own life.

No matter what my age, I will never have lived a moment of your life. No matter how many things we might have in common, I will never have walked a step in your shoes. No matter what degrees I may have earned, you are the expert on your own life, not me. This fundamental fact remains no matter how much I may know about the issues you bring to therapy.

Therapy consists of more than just sitting in a chair and talking. It is like planting a seed. That seed needs to be watered and cared for by you for more than the scant minutes spent in the therapy room before it will sprout and grow. I cannot follow you through your daily life between sessions; you have to apply the lessons of the therapy room to everyday life, nurturing the seed that is yourself in the process. By doing this effectively you eventually do away with the need for therapy.

The goal of all of this is the motto of Entelekea: "Mindfully Creating Meaning." We all constantly create meaning in our lives out of all our experiences. Much of the time we do this unconsciously. To do so mindfully means that we are defining our reality consciously, in the present moment. The creation of meaning is framed by our beliefs, by our values, and by the sum total of our experiences. To create meaning in the present moment is to do so without fear of the future or shame of the past. It is accepting all our experiences as having influenced who we are and where we find ourselves but without letting them define us. 

It is your motivation for therapy, your commitment to change, and your willingness to examine yourself in order to take responsibility for your actions and beliefs that enables healing and alleviates suffering. I am merely here to help you.

That would be great, but I am not so sure it will be that easy.
Starhawk