There’s such a big shift from what I learned in therapist school, the rigid ways we’re taught not to be people, not to share anything about ourselves. I actually find the opposite is true. My clients appreciate that I put forth ideas from my own experience. It means a lot to someone who feels shame about having a meltdown when their therapist says, “I have meltdowns too; it’s part of being autistic.”

When times are urgent, slow down. Some of us don’t have fight-flight-freeze; we have fight-flight-freeze-fix. Fixing helped us survive, turned us into problem-solvers. But it can harm relationality. Honest answer: I don’t know. We’re creating a world that doesn’t yet exist. That’s why we must safeguard, and create space for creativity, imagination, possibility, and dreams. Dreams aren’t created alone; they happen with and through others not yet known. We are seeing a world that does not yet exist.