Case #152 — Everyday abandonment
Felice said she was afraid of abandonment. This is of course a fairly common theme. I had worked with Felice, and new that she could be somewhat dramatic, and childlike at times. She was young - in h…
Case #153 — Underneath the face mask
Belinda laughed and smiled a lot. I told her that I enjoyed her friendly manner. And I also wondered what she was feeling. She said she felt fear, but tended to hide it. I asked further.. Fear of r…
Case #154 — Don't overestimate me
A therapy session can, from a dialogical point of view, start with the therapist ’ s experience and feelings first. When this is in the form of a relational statement, it can be an excellent beginning…
Case #155 — The softening expression
Betty came forward to work. My previous experience of her was that she was quite a card. Funny, dramatic; she talked about a variety of problems she felt quite hopeless about. She started to mention a…
Case #156 — Interrupting the shame cycle
Tracey and Samantha were talking about some unfinished business from previous times in their relationship, a conflict they had where Tracey had reacted to Samantha, and they had an argument. Tracey ma…
Case #157 — Pretending
Miranda ’ s concern was about her tone of voice, which she felt was ‘ pretend ’ . She explained how she engaged at a level of social nicety, but that she felt a lack of authenticity in that place. Thi…
Case #158 — All about needs
Dana had got very triggered by something that occurred in the group, had gone into her shame, and then said she felt like vomiting. So I encouraged her, and she vomited a little. This is a positive st…
Case #159 — Getting unstuck
Linda raised her issues with her mother, who had come to stay with her recently. She said she didn ’ t like being around her mother, who she found ‘ sticky ’ . Her mother would ask her for advice, the…
Case #160 — Missing father
Julie said her issue was deep pain. She felt a bit nervous with me, so I invited her to ask me a question (rather than me putting the spotlight on her). She asked me, “ how do you deal with deep pain?…
Case #161 — Peaceful but lonely
Deb talked about her sadness. I told her I wanted to get to know a bit about her first, before going to that place. I need a sense of contact with a client, some grounding in the relationship betwee…