I distinctly remember that I was in 9th grade when a school counsellor took a class for us and it really fascinated me. It was then that I was exposed to the word ‘psychology’ and the field as well which led me to eventually pursue humanities.

As I grew up, pursued my higher education in psychology, I increasingly grew aware of the generational trauma and mental health struggles in my community, family and within me. The desire to understand its impact more alongside my experience of working with marginalized communities during my fieldwork led me to experiment with myself in the role a counsellor.

Being in that role brought me closer to myself, gave me hope and made me see my own human experience as something to be treated with love rather than “erasing” or “suppressing” it through what oppressive systems in society ask us to do. It was this desire and hope that made me decide to pursue being a counsellor.

First therapy sessions can often be a mix of various emotions for both the client and the therapist. There is uncertainty, nervousness, a feeling of not knowing and various other emotions, thoughts and questions that can tickle one’s mind and heart.

In all of these, first and foremost I hope to give the clients a “sense of ease” as they decide to sit with me in the space. Alongside that, I hope to convey to them a “sense of safety, being seen, validated and reassured” since they have chosen to become vulnerable with me. My attempt is to also give them an experience of “we-ness”; where therapy with me feels like a collaborative process. We attempt to understand their life together and I am along-side them.

I do acknowledge that creating these experiences for the client will be a work in progress and not just reserved for the first session. So I do hope I can give them a first impression or a hint that this is what potentially the least they can experience and take with them as we embark on the journey.

Therapy is a space to investigate your inner world in the safety of being seen and understood by the other. Therapy isn’t about a quick fix or immediately getting a solution to the problem. Rather it is more of an exploratory process where you sit with someone who is trained to look at and help navigate your experience in ways that you couldn’t before. This eventually leads one to develop more awareness and insight; giving them more choice, efficiency and control as they tackle their concerns and problems.

You also have the agency and power to decide when you want to start therapy, how you would like to go about it, ask for a change if it isn’t working for you and terminate if you feel the need to.