Resilience

I describe a group of unique individuals I worked with in psychotherapy or encountered in my clinical work. Their stories are interesting and poignant but the characteristic most striking about them was their resilience. It was so necessary for success in their/our hard work of psychotherapy. I chose them to write about because of my admiration for their candor and resilience. None of them were severely psychotic or psychopathic. However, they all had significant issues and conflicts necessary to master in- order- to move forward with success in their lives. Each therapy involved my patients' families in various and significant ways. Though cooperation by families was often important, it was not always possible or imperative for a positive therapy result. I have carefully made efforts to protect the confidentiality of my patients. This involved disguising places, names and some events. However, I think the essence of their life story and therapy process has been maintained. The form I use is the short story. I have sought concision in the stories. I have sometimes condensed time periods and intervals by editing- out descriptions of lengthy periods involving the fallowing of insights obtained, and the gradual working through of an insight or domain of mindfulness. I sometimes emphasize dramatic and important psychotherapy events by exact dialogue and descriptions. I hope these convey the essence of important psychotherapy work. At the end of each chapter I will describe what I learned from each psychotherapy process. Unlike many melodramatic Hollywood movie scenarios about psychotherapy, changes occurring in psychotherapy are often deceptively quiet...often muted. Psychotherapy involves many emotional experiences...anxiety, fear, fascination, wonder, boredom, humor/laughter, anger, sadness and often pain. The more severe and ominous forms of pain, destruction, and even a death prevented, go unheralded. They are unnoticed because existentially they like a suicide prevented, never in fact exist or occur.