Welcome to my website and to my blog, ‘Thinking about therapy’. I’m glad you found it.
In my first post I wanted to take the opportunity not only to welcome readers, but to think more about the idea of welcome, and share some thoughts about how and where it shows up in our lives and in my work with clients.
Welcome is our starting point. It’s our entry into the world, our communities, and ourselves. It can shape our sense of whatever comes after. It’s often our first glimpse of how others might see us.
Did we feel welcomed into our family of birth, or by families we’ve met or married into? Did we feel welcomed when we started a new school or a new job, or when we moved to a new area or country? Were we welcomed with warmth and openness, or perhaps fear, hostility, or indifference? What are our expectations of welcome? Do we fear we won’t be welcomed by new people or in new places?
What we welcome shapes our lives, too. What feelings and experiences do we invite in? Do we welcome anger? Sadness? Joy? Do we welcome compliments? Feedback? Time alone? There’s no right or wrong, just our own individual ways of being. Sometimes, though, understanding what we habitually welcome, and what we might unthinkingly push away or retreat from, can help us to make different choices and open up new ways through the world.
I welcome clients to my counselling space and into the counselling relationship. I look forward to learning more about them and hearing more about their experiences. I welcome them to be, and to bring, all of themselves.
How have you been made welcome? What do you make welcome now? Is there anything you need to help you feel welcome in therapy? I’d love to hear from you . . .
About me:
I’m an integrative counsellor based in Devon. I offer individual counselling online and in person in Plymouth. Get in touch if you’d like to find out more about working with me.
Stacey Sewell Counselling 