Change

This on a beautiful card I received this week, encapsulating better than I ever could about what Bergen and Associates Counseling is all about.

Our logo has a seed planted in dirt, recognizing that it is at times of being buried by life that one also has opportunities to grow.  The colors on our walls are various shades of green. Our office is full of plants.  The theme of “growth” is everywhere.

At Bergen and Associates Counselling, we are deliberate in creating optimum conditions for that growth…we recognize that people need to feel safe, that there is a sense that the therapist can be trusted.  Sometimes that means encouraging a client to wait with that which is most sensitive until such time as that trust is built.  Other times it involves discussing what happens with sensitive information, how it will be processed or reflected on by the therapist.  We recognize that it takes courage to explore topics which are shameful or painful…and so we honor the risks that are taken, and work with a client to ensure they feel supported as those risks are taken.  We take great care to ensure confidentiality to allow clients to pursue that growth in a safe environment..

	One of the highest privileges is for me as a therapist to witness those growth-sprouts in clients’ lives.  It is not uncommon for acquaintances that I meet to comment that “it must be very difficult to work with people who need counselling”.  I tell them quickly and automatically that it rather is quite the opposite…that walking alongside individuals as they emerge from difficult times in liberating and exciting ways is a truly remarkable feature in my life’s work.
I get to be a change-witness…to watch flowers emerge from seeds…to facilitate that growth, to water it, and to celebrate it.
	I’ve not got a green thumb, but I’ve got a huge soft spot in me for buds of all kinds in spring.  ...then again, I just love watching sprouting in general.