Grrr, rarely has a headline irritated me more than this one in Therapy Today magazine…
Actually, the article itself was a bit more balanced.
But I take exception to the idea that we as therapists should be talking in terms of ‘letting’ our clients bring their babies to therapy.
For me, the correct headline would have been ‘how can we make therapy as accessible as possible for those with babies?’
Because this is about inclusivity. And, to be blunt, I don’t think the therapeutic profession can afford to be as picky about their clients…!!
I’m lucky in that I’ve had a regular flow of clients since I qualified. But I’m in the minority. Many counsellors and therapists have to take on other work to supplement their income. And counsellors in particular are notoriously underpaid. With all this in mind, I think we should all be thinking about how to encourage as many clients to feel comfortable to come to therapy as possible.
Also, life is messy. Often clients can’t leave their babies or (perfectly understandably) don’t want to!
Isn’t it our job to help them feel accepted and as relaxed as possible about their therapeutic experience?
It might sound silly but when our pug Sherlock was a puppy and I didn’t want to leave him at home alone, my therapist actually invited him to our therapy sessions.
That made a huge difference.
In contrast, an old therapeutic supervisor of mine took a different tone when one of our young twins had a meltdown during our Zoom supervision session and wanted to cuddle his mummy (before rapidly falling asleep in my arms). She was not happy about his presence and made that clear in no uncertain terms.
The result: I felt really uncomfortable and shamed.
And ultimately I ended up changing supervisor to a fabulous woman who I suspect wouldn’t bat an eyelid if all my children decided to storm a session and tell her all about the finer points of Lego Ninjago.
So as I sit here now with a baby with a temperature who I’ve just had to collect from nursery, I say this:
Let’s make therapy as inclusive as possible. Please don’t shame people for having messy lives. And, if you’re one of those people who feels excluded, come and see us at TCC. We get it! And you are welcome with us.
PS check out Geraldine the Giraffe who is helping me today by giving me regular cuddles
