ABSTRACT
In 2017, Trish lost both parents, only 6 months apart. In this chapter, she explores how that loss may have opened something in her that subsequently came into the therapy room in powerful and productive ways. In this chapter, Trish explores questions like What is it like to treat others therapeutically when the therapist is grieving? She explores the many ways in which that came into her therapeutic practice, beyond simply (and sometimes not so simply) deciding whether to tell grieving clients that she is also grieving. The chapter explores the space that opens up between client and therapist when the therapist takes risks by revealing parts of her own story that may create a space for client empathy, identification and trust to grow. Candidly going beyond more straightforward boundary considerations like Should I tell the client this? Or asking the client How did it feel for me to tell you that?, Trish explores what happens after the client leaves, when a therapist may be left with that open wound of grief. She explores how working with clients around ageing, relationships and grief can advance or impact a therapist's own personal growth in that space. By attending to one's own grief or other life-changing moments, this chapter asks therapists to see how those waves of often-painful change can enhance their therapeutic work rather than diminish it.
