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By Christabel Adebayo, CBT & EMDR Therapist
I wept. Today I finally wept. Not with the light tears I've shed over the last few days but with deep groaning.
As a psychological therapist, I have to park my life, my emotions and prioritise the welfare of my clients. Every day. I'm used to it. This week I've done the same. Smiling at my clients faces, pretending that nothing is going on outside of their problems. Then I received this email today from one of my clients. A Caucasian male client.
It broke me. It broke me because for the first time I felt SEEN. It made me feel like I was permitted to breathe. To exhale my suppressed breath of pain. To release the accumulated anguish of my lived experiences & the experiences of my people.
Thank you to this client. I couldn't breathe. But today... I took a breath for air.
I would advise my fellow black therapists, black professionals, black brothers & sisters to allow yourself time to breathe. It is okay to take time off and process your feelings and thoughts. Self-care is the best care.
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