An Open Letter to My Clients

Artem Kovalev

​My dear clients,​

I hope this letter finds you well. This is an open letter because I also want to address those who are considering therapy or are already involved in it. My message is simple: It’s OK to talk about religion, sex, and politics in session. Really, it is. We are taught in our culture to avoid these particular topics in polite company. In general, this is probably good practice. In therapy, however, everything is on the table, polite or no.

There also seems to be a perception therapy is only about one’s inner experience or interactions with close family or friends. Anything that affects you affects you, however, whether it comes from your mother or a member of congress. We live in an expansive world with a lot of input from many different sources. All of this is valid to discuss in therapy. 

Another misconception about therapy is therapists are only interested in things that happened in the past. It’s true a client’s growing-up experience is often a good place to start. It’s not the only place that deserves attention, however. In EMDR, the modality I use most often, we are trained to work with the past, the present, and the future. What happened to you in the past? What is occurring in your inner or outer world right now that bothers you? How would you like to handle it differently in the future? Focusing on each of these areas is important to good mental and emotional health. 

When you come to session I hope to foster a safe and open atmosphere where you can feel free to talk about anything. If I fail to do this, I apologize and will seek to do better. My intention is to meet you wherever your heart and mind are in the moment.

Take good care and please let me know if you have any questions. I’m available to listen to what you have to say.

Rachel