Questions about Therapy: "Are you really interested in my stories or do you just listen because you're paid to listen?"

It is not altogether uncommon for clients (especially in initial sessions) to try to rush through their stories or cut them short, because they think their story "is boring, you probably don't want to hear it" or "you've probably heard it all before" or "you're only listening because you have to." No, it's not like that at all. It is an intriguing question to explore, but not by far a difficult one. I am deeply interested in the stories of my clients, and I can confidently say that for the most part it is not because I'm paid to do it. Certainly, it is my job to listen but also, I consider this as one of those professions that it will be hard to stick to without feeling intrinsic value, and I am guessing (or hoping) no amount of money will be able to keep me if I cannot find the meaning in it.

I got into counselling because I like trying to understand people through their stories and in the process to understand myself better as well. What makes us do the things we do, what brings us down, what makes us tick as humans. And while individual differences are aplenty of course, I usually find so many things in common not only among various clients but in common with myself and it seems across humanity, such as:

• the desire to be acknowledged and appreciated for who we are, to be seen and heard and accepted
• how we look at our lives and assume on comparing (usually to a social media handle) that other people have got it better
• how many of our lives are governed to an unfair degree by what other people think of us
• how apologetic we sometimes feel to ask for our own space, as if it's not allowed
• the unrealistic expectations we often have of ourselves and of others
• how eerily easy it is to sabotage our own progress because change is scary and the familiar is comforting even when we are uncomfortable in it
• how strikingly a few decisions made or situations modified or perspectives altered could change things, for better or for worse
• how there is always just that one other checkpoint we're convinced if we reach, that we'll finally be happy

These and many more things make me think. Just to be able to listen to people's stories is always interesting, but to be able to create a space where these stories can be explored from different perspectives, stories the paths of which can be altered through sharing and introspection, empowering its authors or just merely providing an interested audience feels meaningful to me. I hope I will not become too jaded over time, but for today, to all present and future clients I say an unequivocal yes, I am very interested in your stories and please do keep sharing.