In a recent session I was given a lovely image which revealed a way we can look at the client/therapist relationship. I was with a client who, with several health issues sees a
range of practitioners, both western and alternative. She had recently added someone
new to that list and was worried about following
all the instructions, especially as her intuition was that some were not quite right for her.
During the session however we were reminded
that it is not the practitioner who sits in the centre and allows clients
access to their skills and knowledge – a very western medicine model. It is in
fact the other way round. Each person seeking help invites the practitioner
into their healing circle, when they reveal their physical and/or emotional pain. Each person sits in the centre and can invite as many therapists in as they wish but it
is their own healing circle, they control the gateway and the energy within
that circle. This is a useful concept because it underscores that each person is in control of their own healing journey. Practitioners of all ilks bring knowledge, insight, intuition and experience as
gifts into the circle but it is the client who at all times holds the power.
Importantly if the power rests with the client then
so too does the responsibility. We practitioners must seek the client's trust in us and our methods but we cannot impose change or
healing. We cannot force the taking of pills or supplements, the adoption of healthier diets nor the release of
unhealthy patterns. We cannot insist on the choice to live consciously or
demand that there be awareness of the hurt child in action. It remains the
client’s right to integrate whatever they wish into their healing strategy or to reject.
The wonderful thing is, however, that if a
person does accept the gift of the therapist’s knowledge, revelation and advice
and chooses to take steps towards better health they are honouring and empowering only
themselves.
