Rejoice and celebrate your client’s victories for they have achieved something miraculous. A dragon was slain in your midst.

I wasn’t expecting it honestly, this idea or reflection. But no good reflection is planned, I guess. It was a weekday. I got home from my day of a full schedule of clients. A long day, sure, but very meaningful and full of remarkable miracles. Later that evening, I got ready to record an episode of the podcast that I’m a part of, “Who Ya Gonna Call?”. The members of this podcast include a spiritual director, a life coach, and a counselor (me). We get together to talk about life and different struggles from three different perspectives. Anyways, I was preparing a drink and typically, I choose to have my “cowboy” drink which is straight up black coffee. Caffeinated black coffee. Don’t hate, did I not mention I had a long day? I needed the caffeine in order to record a 45 minute podcast episode. As I was making my coffee, I stopped and thought about the clients I saw that day. Two in particular stood out to me…

One, who gave witness about how she chose to expose herself to a series of actions that caused severe pain due to significant trauma in the past, but she was able to overcome her fear which in turn deepened her trust with her husband and others around her. Through this act of bravery, she experienced profound transformation and healing. She came into her session wanting to share this victory. She had a smile on her face and pride as she expressed how she felt, something her shame and self-hatred never allowed her to feel or believe. Now her freedom was like a wildfire.

My other client took a risk in session by being more vulnerable and asking me to be more direct with her, helping her better come to the realization that I care, thus deepening our trust with one another. With this permission, I called out how her previous experience of love and care was actually a narcissistic plight to use her rather than to love her, taking the life out of her for so many years. These words crumpled her perceived reality, a reality where love was taken and not nurtured or given freely. Then I invited her to empathize and advocate for her younger self by consoling her pain and validating her worth. She was able to break through the haze of delusion, shame and self-hatred. Claiming with excitement for the newfound hope of what love really is and that love is still out there to be gained and is not lost. A glow shined on her face and as tears fell, she gave a big sigh of relief. Freedom.

All this came to my mind as I decided then to pour myself a glass of wine instead. My reason…to give tribute to the sacrifice that these two clients made by stepping out in faith. To celebrate with them and for them in their courage of conquering their fears and gaining back their freedom and peace. Maybe this is considered “taking things home with you after work” but I don’t believe that it was in this case. What we do as therapists impacts us. Our clients impact us, at least they should. In many ways and for many different reasons, that impact should transpire into a better understanding and celebration of the enormous miracles that the transformation and healing our client’s experience. I tell many of my clients to “treat themselves” as homework once they overcome a huge obstacle. I told one client in particular to celebrate with her friends.

Repeating what scripture says, “and when he (the shepherd) has found it (lost sheep) he lays it on his shoulder, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors saying to them ‘rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.” – Luke 15:5-6

What once was lost is now found. What once was dead is now alive. What once was a slave is now set free. Should we not celebrate? No, it’s not for our sake, we do not pat ourselves on the back and say, “look at what I did”, not in the least. We celebrate to model for our clients and give witness to others and most importantly to ourselves as therapists, in order to reinforce the reality that our clients are saint heroes in their own epic. As travel companions on this adventure with them through their suffering and mess, it is important to be with them in their victories, celebrating and affirming that the driving spark within them took hold and grew into a profound sense of meaning. Isn’t what our clients do and accomplish worth celebrating?

Your clients have found freedom. As their neighbor you celebrate with them and for them. Reinforcing and stating the truth that they are worth being found and allowed to live life abundantly. So go, drink a glass of wine or however you want to celebrate the miracles found in the therapist office, for what was lost has been found.