The Room

Where We Practice

Winter Fridays at 9 am after a cold, snowy and slippery drive to make my appointment, I enter The Room, a warm, welcoming and cozy place to escape to for an hour.  The Room was inviting to me the first time I entered it.  All the comfortable things I like are there, the softness of the couch, books lined neatly on shelves, daylight through the window, dark wooden furniture, just the right amount of light to feel relaxed and someone sitting across from me to listen to my life stories.

When the door closes I feel a sense of being shut off from the hustle, bustle of reality going on outside of The Room.  It is in The Room that I can go inside myself and look at how I got to today, all the experiences that have made me who I am.

I can say anything in The Room and know I won’t be judged.  I can share the funny, sad, scary, hopeful and hurtful and be understood and supported.  I sometimes enter The Room scared, nervous and fearful of what I need to talk about that day.  I usually leave feeling calm, assured and hopeful because of what happens there, because I am heard, because I am understood.

The Room is like a protective shield around me where I can unburden myself and know I am safe.  I can share things about myself that I have never been able to share before.

I hope someday soon I can find The Room within myself and take it with me wherever I go.

By One of Dr. Shaw’s Clients (2013)