A Rush of Connection
According to Irvin Yalom “The act of revealing oneself fully to another and still being accepted may be a major vehicle of therapeutic help.” I find this quote very compelling as a therapist. In many ways, I view therapy as a space where my clients can come and not receive judgment. We live in a society that teaches people to judge themselves and others. It is easy to make judgments about what people look like, what they believe, what they do, and even what they enjoy. But in the therapy office, the focus is on nonjudgment. Instead, the therapist's job is to listen, accept, and connect with their clients.
When a client tells me something that is hard to share, when they reveal themselves fully to me, I feel honored. I remember watching a Netflix show called Sex Education. (Hilarious show totally worth a watch if you haven’t seen it!) The premise is that a woman who is a sex therapist has a high school son who runs his own “sex therapy clinic” from his school. During a conversation between the woman and her son, they discuss what is special about practicing therapy. In the son's words, he opens up to his mother about the “rush of connection” he feels when talking with other people. When I heard those words, as a viewer, I was instantly moved! I realized that it is in those moments of beautiful vulnerability that occur during therapy that I get to feel a rush of connection with someone else. I recognize my client's effort in sharing with me their innermost thoughts and feelings. It is such a wonderful moment to join and validate someone in their vulnerability.
That is my hope for the people who come and see a therapist at Embodied Therapy Group (ETG). That for 50 minutes they would feel fully heard and a complete lack of judgment. My hope is that our ETG clinicians accept their clients no matter what. I feel confident that I, and the rest of our clinical team, are able to practice radical acceptance toward our clients. A level of acceptance, that I believe, helps people heal while learning to accept themselves.
Irvin Yalom is a psychiatrist, professor, and author. He is well known in the mental health community for his books such as Existential Psychotherapy and The Gift of Therapy. Yalom has made major contributions to both the practice of group therapy and existential therapy.
