Therapy

I listen to him.

Validate and point out his positive assets

Notice discrepancies and inconsistencies,

Voice them,

I challenge his automatic thoughts,

Doubt his inner critic,

Guide him through deep breaths,

Question the origin of his stories,

And ask him for evidence of his assumptions,

But I cannot change him.

I cannot quieten that voice in his head,

Cannot keep him from pulling his hair or intellectualizing,

Cannot make him any more present

Or any less apprehensive of the future.

I am merely a sounding board,

a mirror, a witness.

I see him and I let him correct me , When I can’t see him precisely That is all I can do.

That fear he holds or has a hold

Over him-

It is neither mine to grasp

Nor to relinquish.

Only he can let go or break free,

So I myself have to relinquish

Any hopes or thoughts or things

I wish I could help or change

And I hope in this moment,

In this instance,

He knows it is okay to feel 

And to cede control here,

In this encounter,

I hope he can encounter

Himself just as he is.

And maybe, I too

Maybe, I myself

Need to cede control

Of any views or circumscriptions

Of how I thought life would be,

How I thought I might be.

Maybe, this encounter

Is just as much teaching

Me presence, as it is him.