ABSTRACT
In this VBTC lasting 20 minutes 43 seconds, Em T presents with what she refers to as procrastination. After much exploration, I discover that after getting married and living in close proximity with her in-laws, she feels that she had lost the freedom, autonomy and joyousness that she had when she was single and living with her parents. While happy with her husband she is struggling, in particular, with her mother-in-law’s impatience. What she sees as her own rebelliousness is an attempt to stay connected with her past life rather than grapple with the adversities involved in her new life. I help Em T to see that she can feel sad about the loss of her previous life and accept her mother-in-law as someone who will listen to her but who needs periodic reminders to do so. I encourage her to acknowledge that while she no longer has the unfettered autonomy of her previous life with her parents, she does have more limited autonomy in her present life, but that she is not exercising it. I suggest that buying a light covering of her own choice can be a symbol of her autonomy and that through acceptance of her mother-in-law and by exercising what autonomy she does have in her current situation, she can eventually rediscover her old joyous self.
