I used to be drawn to reading memoirs about troubled families. I was in search of clues about the mystery of myself—who I was, and how my life became such a mess.

     From the memoirs, I wanted to know not just what happened to the characters, but how it affected them.  I especially longed to know how they overcame what happened. If their successes had come as a result of therapy, then that’s what I most wanted details about. Unfortunately, details about therapy were rarely mentioned in any of the memoirs I read.

     In much the same way, when I think about my own life, what is interesting is not the story of the troubled family in which I was raised, but how the steady work with my therapist dismantled symptoms—depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — of underlying emotional problems. Therapy makes us stronger, and the process is fascinating. I learned that by undertaking the arduous work of making sense of the emotional turmoil of the past, it is possible to make our way more fully into the present.

Unwinding Stories

     Mostly, we do not know the ways that events in childhood affected us—“how this could be connected to that”—until our story in therapy slowly unwinds. More is revealed to us as we remember what happened and are helped to make sense of it; the mystery of who we are becomes clear. This can happen in a therapeutic setting that allows for developing a close relationship with a caring therapist.

     I decided to create a place here on the World Wide Web where men and women could share, in confidence, their experiences in therapy. Although I am not a therapist, I want to share therapy’s benefits with those who may feel uncertain about it. I recall the fleeting hope I felt for such a long time, never being sure it would be possible to achieve enduring relief from emotional pain.

Building a Stronger Self

     In my case, I needed therapy not simply for addressing a short-term issue, but for something much deeper, which was my idea of myself. For me, many years of therapy were appropriate. And over the years, I paid for therapy out of my wages as a waitress, babysitter, typist, secretary, office manager, greeting card salesperson, advertising salesperson, technical writer, instructional designer, and teacher of students with emotional and behavior problems. The financial commitment to therapy necessitated having low-end cars, discount clothes, and modest vacations—all the while building a more durable self.

     Therapy fosters a unique way of knowing ourselves. The path to self-knowledge through therapy is a subject deserving of wide exposure and careful thought. With self-knowledge, we can achieve gradual improvements in confidence and judgment. These, in turn, lead to stronger relationships, more fulfilling work, and larger measures of gladness in being alive.

This site is NOT a substitute for qualified treatment.
I am NOT a therapist.
I write only of my personal experience in therapy
and to share the comments of others.