An ode to our clients: a poem by abbe

This poem was inspired by the courage that it takes for a person to reach out and take the step to sit on my couch.  As a client myself, I remember feeling so vulnerable taking a chance on a therapist, and I often wonder what it was like for my therapist to sit with me. This poem also speaks to the humanity of both perspectives.

Have you ever wondered why

Someone is your helper,

Someone is your guide?

In their comfy seat, what makes them qualified?

You empty your grief into the room

Knowing they can only assume

What it’s like to hold the pain and

darkness that lives in your cocoon.

You take a chance, you try to trust

That this “safe place”…

Will bring you light and comfort

and help you find your way.

In my comfy seat,

I also wonder why,

What made you risk showing up,

And letting me see you cry?

With all my training,

And even lack there of it.

I’ll never know just what to say—

I won’t even try to prove it.

In my eyes, I pray you see

There’s empathy

For the story I have not lived

And cannot remedy.

Your pain is real. Your pain is yours.

There’s really no escape.

A way through though, that’s not alone

In time, it will reshape.

With your trust and with my hope,

Together we can see

Into the window of your soul

To get you what you need.

“It is an honor,”

“My deepest privilege,”

Words you’ll hear me say.

It sounds so inadequate

To truly convey.

In all of my unknowing,

The richness and gratitude I feel,

For the trust you give me,

to walk with you as you heal.

🤍 Abbe