I never thought I would be here

“I never thought I would be here.”

It’s said to me often, in those very first sessions when someone sits down across from me for the first time.

I get it. Maybe this is not how you were raised. Maybe you were taught that going to therapy means you are “broken” and that you just need to “try harder.” Maybe your church wouldn’t be supportive, or even your best friend wouldn’t understand.

The thing is, coming to therapy is not about getting “over it.”

You are not a car. You do not need to be “fixed.” What you need is acknowledgement that your feelings are valid. What you need is to be seen, heard, and understood. Therapy is not about labeling you as broken; it’s about giving you tools and a safe place to set down the heavy things you’ve been carrying. Therapy isn’t about weakness. It’s about courage, the courage to say, I don’t have to carry this alone.

What Therapy Can Look Like

Sometimes people are surprised at what happens in my office. They expect therapy to only be about talking, analyzing, or “fixing.” But social work, and therapy, can look very different than you might imagine.

Things I have done in my office that you may not think are social work but, very much, are:

• I have sat with someone while they made a phone call to a health provider they had been dreading for months.

• I have laughed until I cried, because healing also makes room for joy.

• I have sat quietly while someone wrote a difficult letter they had been carrying in their heart.

• I have coloured, fidgeted, and wiggled alongside someone as they worked through big feelings that words alone couldn’t express.

• I have done a puzzle, heard poetry and learned about the rules of pickleball.

• I have assisted in choosing a reservation for a date night, complete with researching parking spots and menu items.

Therapy is not one-size-fits-all. It’s about creating space for what you need whether that’s silence, movement, laughter, or courage to take the next step. Coming here doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means you’re choosing not to carry it all on your own anymore. And that is something worth honouring.