My father suffered a great deal of childhood trauma growing up in Mexico. These were experiences that deeply impacted his interactions with friends, family and himself throughout his entire life. These were experiences that he felt were his burden to wear and he never spoke a word of it to us until I was already in my 30’s and he was in his 60’s. Keep in mind that he was also the type of father who worked 35 years at a factory and never once used a sick day that I could remember. Did he ever get sick? No, of course he did… probably. I say probably because he never spoke much. Those years of immense hardship resided in part of his existence and he felt that it was best to keep himself withdrawn to “save” those he loved from these experiences. Almost like his heart was a vault where he kept these awful experiences and only he knew the combination.

I remember a time in my late teens/early twenties when I felt like I was juggling too much yet wasn’t sure why I was feeling this way. It felt like I was failing to meet expectations but couldn’t figure out where this feeling was coming from. I was a student, a son, a friend and an employee at a new job. It felt like I was barely getting by in fulfilling my responsibilities in each role.

When clients sit down for their first therapy session, they generally report a feeling of feeling “stuck". Stuck in an unpleasant situation, stuck in a feeling of no direction or overwhelmed by an event in their life. They all wanted one thing and to receive it as quickly as possible: a feeling of corrective motion. A feeling that the things you are doing now will lead to feeling happier in the future.