SMALL TOWN THERAPIST'S RED HOT TIPS

 

This beautiful photo was taken by Nate Ross

I self published a book through Barnes and Noble* on December 9.  We had a little ceremony at our library because I'd gotten so much help from Anthony, the librarian. I told the audience, the friends and family I'd invited, "It was so simple, all I did was push this little button on my computer and boom! it published a book." Ha ha. The reality is the book was in the works for many years. 

I started writing my ideas about my life and my counseling practice in a blog, susansmagicfeather.blogspot.com, in 2011. That blog is still ongoing. In the blog are stories, some autobiographical, some about the techniques I used in therapy sessions, some about why I became a psychotherapist. I wrote what interested me in life and what was helpful to my clients---what techniques worked and what didn't. It is still my sincere desire to continue helping people be happier and healthier.

Then the pandemic hit in 2020. Remember, at first we had no reassurance that people were going to survive the plague and no vaccines to prevent getting Covid. I kept thinking, "What's going to happen to all my work if I'm dead and gone?" So during the pandemic I reexamined the blog posts and selected the best ones, the ones most pertinent to my work as a counselor. I kept writing and rewriting my thoughts and ideas for a happier, healthier life. Then it became obvious that I was actually writing a book. The tips that are in the book, I believe, were helpful to my clients, and to me as well. They just might be helpful to anyone who reads the book.

Being a psychotherapist in a small town is different than being a therapist in a big city. For example, it was not unusual for my clients to stop me on the street to either arrange a meeting or just to chat. Sometimes clients would stop my husband in town and give him a check.  "Give this to your wife," they'd say, even though he hadn't a clue that I was seeing them. Apparently, they didn't care. Of course, confidentiality was imperative for me but the clients could make their own choices. 

My clients were great. They gave me hope, inspiration and kept me hopping. I had to constantly and diligently increase my knowledge because there weren't many other therapists to refer people to. I had to keep myself abreast of the newest and most effective techniques for the benefit of my clients.

Here's a recent slice of life in a small town. I was in a store and my sister saw me and was all excited that I'd gotten my book published. She exclaimed, "Aren't you telling everybody about the book?" The man who I'd been conversing with said, "What book?" So I told him the title, Small Town Therapist's Red Hot Tips. Over in the corner of the store was a friend who'd overheard, sort of. He called over and said, "Red Hot Therapist?" We all laughed. I quickly repeated the correct title. In a small town that wasn't an unusual interaction.  Funny and joyful. Amen to small towns.

*If you'd like to obtain a copy of the book go to barnesandnoble.com and search for the title, Small Town Therapist's Red Hot Tips.