Therapy Session Sample, An Example of Working Together

The therapeutic encounter is a unique opportunity for two individuals to work together towards a greater understanding of the nature of personal struggle and human potential.  As you will see in the excerpt below, one person's experience leads the session's inquiry, while at the same time both participants (client and therapist) are afforded the opportunity to witness and to grow from the nuanced insights that arise.  As a therapist, I am grateful that my occupation allows me such an ongoing and precious view of what is possible for each being's life. 

PLEASE NOTE: The therapy session segment below is posted with the permission of this client; their generosity is greatly appreciated.

THERAPY SESSION EXCERPT

Jonathan – Do you feel complete?

Client – I feel a little constricted, but a little bit free at the same time.

Jonathan – Where does the constricted seem to be… does it feel present in your chest?

Client – Not too constricted, just like ooh wow you have so many things that you could talk about, but you have three minutes, or you’ve already been talking for a while – stop talking… yeah.  Just getting used to talking about myself I guess.

Jonathan – And the constricted… do you have a felt sense of it somewhere in your body?

Client – Yeah.

Jonathan – And where?

Client – Right here.

Jonathan – What does it feel like?

Client – Like nervous… like still nervous, a little bit of fluttering.

Jonathan – But what is the exact, actual sensation? So ‘fluttering’, that’s a little closer to the sensation.  And does it… is the fluttering constant, or does it change?

Client – It changes.  And like now my back feels kind of tense behind the fluttering… I don’t know.

Jonathan – And if you watch it does it continue to change and move?

Client – Yeah, a little bit.  It feels like… I see an image of a dove in a cage just fluttering around like ‘oh my God’… excited, like it knows that the cage is about to open; and it’s just like ok, ok, ok, ok, ok; but also like calm down, calm down, calm down, calm down.  That kind of thing, kind of excitement.

Jonathan – That’s an amazing place to be: to see the cage, to see the dove, and to see that there is the possibility of being outside of the cage.

Client – Yeah. It’s kind of weird – I've never explained visions like that before… wow.

Jonathan – How does it feel to explain it?

Client – It’s empowering… because it’s like I’m sharing something that I’m seeing, that I’m really seeing – like I’m seeing it right now; the cage, the bird, and knowing that that’s right here and being able to express it; and maybe you can see it too… I don’t know… or feel it?

Jonathan – Are you still connected to the body sense of it, or when you see it do you loose that connection?

Client – Yeah… no, ‘cause I can feel the air that the wings are creating inside the cage, can feel the cage rocking a little bit and the movement inside.

Jonathan – In yogic philosophy sometimes they say that right behind the heart is where courage is born, and of course as we’ve learned courage comes from the word for heart, cour… anyway.

Client – That’s cool.

Jonathan – Maybe?

Client – I like that.

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