ABSTRACT
“Where shall we start?” is the sort of comment I might well make when first seeing a client, a way of opening that does not confine the dialogue to any particular region or preconceived expectation (e.g., “my past”, “the problem”, “symptoms”, “reason for coming”), any, and more of which, can be explored as the meeting unfolds. Beginning this way is an invitation to open speech-permission to narrate, if one wills. Not only this, but my use of the “we” pronoun (as distinct from, e.g., “Where do you want to start from?”) acknowledges the mutuality of psychotherapy as an endeavour and that in speaking, someone else is always there to be addressed. Mutuality does not mean that the “I”s disappear. Whatever follows from this point onwards—be it a pause, an anxious confession, watering of the eyes, a composed description, discomposed distress, a question, and so forth—is the formation of a meaningful connection. From that connection and narrative contact, agreement to a further meeting, or to therapy, arises; and even if we only see that person once, for whatever reason, we still hope that the meeting will have provided good food for thought.
