Letters to a Young Therapist

Spent the past couple of days reading Mary Pipher's "Letter's to a Young Therapist: Stories of Hope and Healing." This is the type of book and advice I have been searching for over the past year. As a new therapist I feel compelled to read and discover the wisdom veteran practitioners bring to their craft. I was struck over and over by the simplicty of her messages, meaning through hope, connection, and love. I feel compelled to incorporate the use of metaphor into my work more often as well. Just this week I used the metaphor, "elephant in the room" (or is it an idiom, I have no idea) with a client and it struck a cord with her.... she had never heard the phrase before but quickly identified with its meaning. Pipher's continual message of self-care and life development resonated loudly with me as well, specifically using the usual "homework" concept to encourage exercise, afternoon walk, reading a book, going to a potluck, or chatting with a friend. These homework tasks are not just for the client but for the therapist as well. I feel refreshed reading this book, a gentle reminder of the slow development of the self as therapist and the simplicity of approaches that can be truly healing.