Man, what to do?

What do you do with all of these stories? What about when you hear a story that breaks your heart. But all you can do is listen, invite, and reflect. You know that what your clients do is up to them. After all, they have to live their own lives as do you? As systemic, postmodern therapists, we signed up to help clients find and use their personal resources. So, we try to be there for clients but it seems to be getting harder and harder. I had a colleague share with me a very difficult case. Of course, he's sharing the case because he's stuck. We discovered that he is stuck because he wants to save his client from his wife but can only be there in a very non-directive way. What do you do when you want to tell a client what to do? How do you say, "give it up," without saying "Give it up." Share your wisdom with the rest of us.

How are you living?

My fellow therapists, counselors, and friends with skills: How is it going? Are you getting the help you need? Pastors, who listens to you when you're troubled? Man, if you are like me--have a heart for those that are hurting--then you need some TLC yourself. Once, while I was in graduate school (MA degree) and one of my professors brought of the subject "crying." And I immediately said "on whose part?" Of course, the room erupted with laughter, because she was talking about what we could do if clients began to cry. Of course, we were laughing because we all imagined a therapist crying uncontrollably as the client sat there very calm and "professionally."

Now some 20 years later, I know very well that I could cry when listening to some stories. So what to do? We hear some interesting, very complex stories (some of us all day long). What do you do? Are you talking to your colleagues? Do you have a mentor? Are you detaining strangers on the subway? Well, I don't know how you're living, but I'm going dancing tonight. Yup, give me a good 'ol school song and I'm prepared to hear and respond to another day of difficult, stuck, intricate stories from the lives of people who are as human as I am.