#VoicesOfTherapy: Making it through to the other side

2 minutes Written by Mental Health Match

My therapy is informed by the personal struggles I have experienced and overcome far more than my traditional training.

I am grateful to be part of the recovery community since 2010. This experience has profoundly shaped how I see myself as well as my relationship with struggle and the influence of a higher power in my life.

In addition, I am someone who has faced the terror of debilitating panic disorder as well as the dark depths of major depression. I have seen the insides of a psychiatric unit in a major hospital from the perspective of a patient.

These experiences are part of my story. They are experiences I take with me where even I go and with whom ever I interact with. I am grateful for these moments in my life as they have given me a greater appreciation for mental health, wellness as well as the value of suffering.

Moreover, I can now speak from the vantage point of someone who has made it to the other side. I see my self as a wounded healer who can connect to the hidden pain of others. It is an unspoken connection I experience with my patients. I have benefitted from caring mental health professionals as well as kind supports with whom I have shed many a tear, and each time met with those two powerful words: Me too, or I understand.

My sensitivities to the pain and suffering of others truly informs my work with patients. I appreciate so much the opportunity to use the training and education I have received to help all of my patients. I see myself as a fellow spiritual being having a human experience serving as a guide .

I do not present myself as a authoritative expert with all the answers. For me at the end of the day it is the connection I share with my patients in which the healing can be found.

–Michael B., Licensed Therapist

Want to help others by sharing your therapy story? You can do so anonymously at http://bit.ly/voicesoftherapy.

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Written by Mental Health Match

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