Today I had a final session with a client that I’ve been seeing for a few months.
Me: So is there anything useful from our time together that you could use going forward? Any strategies, or things you found helpful?
Client: Not really, no.
😐
Working with teenagers is just so rewarding, they told me.
Now, I can put this response down to coming back after a break of a few weeks, or to the client finding it difficult to articulate the benefits of therapy (he did come regularly every week, so I like to think he must have been getting something out of it). But. Self-reflection is an important and essential part of this work and I need to think about what this feedback means for me. What could I have done better? What can I learn from this?
I also finished with another, adult client today.
‘These sessions have been massively helpful, I just can’t thank you enough... I don’t know what I would have done without them,’ the client enthused.
Their praise made me feel a bit uncomfortable and to want to downplay my part in it. ‘Oh, the hard work was yours, I’m just a guide’ I said.
Why do we find it so hard to accept compliments? Yes, absolutely the emotional hard work was the client’s, but my part is far from insignificant. A lot of the time my colleagues and I feel like we’re fighting to gain respect and to get people to understand that what we do is more than just tea and sympathy, and then I’m playing into this by minimising my own skills and experience.
Imposter syndrome? British reserve?
Lots to reflect upon from both clients today, anyway.
