How did you come to therapy?

10 years ago for the first time, after having a baby, ppd, feeling like marriage wasn’t working out and needed support to work through all of that. Began with very open questions, maybe overshared and had a “hangover” from that. Logistical challenges with no support. Brought baby to first appt was told not to continue because baby would take in negative emotions and it would be bad for him.

Tried again a few years later, was hard to find people who are available, take insurance, etc. Tried several people and didn’t find a good fit, started to unpack childhood trauma and could see it was overwhelming to clinicians.

During the pandemic found online resources and books, before eventually working with someone in person for a few years which was great. Eventually felt like they had done as much as they could do and wanted a new perspective so switched to Aimee. Previous therapist was in person, and Aimee is virtual.

Switch to virtual:

Nervous about the change, especially because previous provider incorporated a lot of movement into sessions to help with how trauma can be stored in the body.  Aimee was able to incorporate some of this in virtual sessions as well

EMDR:

Was able to do this online  through a specific platform. Aimee suggested it, sent info and had a lot of discussions about it. Over time noticed physiological changes in terms of heart rate, panic responses, etc which has had a big impact on overall mental health. Sometimes we don’t even know our own triggers to address them but changing our responses can change our mental patterns

The client is very science focused, inclined to write this off as a bit woowoo but looked at the science about EMDR, sleep, neuroscience, etc.

Eventually left the bad marriage when starting with Aimee, and having therapy at that time really helped to process this and was important for being a successful single parent

If you’re thinking about doing therapy?

Why not just try it? If you think you might need therapy, you probably do. Virtual platforms might feel strange at first but can make options so much more accessible. Shop around to find the right person, don’t let one bad fit make you think that therapy isn’t for you overall. Lots of people do therapy, more than you know/think - people you admire and respect.