About

Going through the motions of life alone is tiring.

Keyshia* lay in bed the night before her first therapy session. Her heart began to beat fast, and she started nimbly massaging her temples as she felt a headache brewing. She realized the gravity of what she had done.

“Am I crazy? I just made a therapy appointment to discuss my problems with a total stranger!” She vividly recalled her last conversation with her best friend Lisa as she sat up in bed. Keyshia always asked Lisa* what she should do about her constant stress, work struggles, and beyond annoying man problems.

Lisa told her the same thing so many times, almost like she was on autopilot.

“Don’t worry, girl, stress is a part of life; you can handle it! Don’t worry, boo; you’ll get that promotion at work. Just relax and stop thinking about it!”

Keyshia’s least favorite line was, “Don’t worry, best friend, you’ll find a good man when you least expect it!”

Keyshia loved her best friend more than anything, but she was sick of hearing these generic replies to her problems. Those replies lacked empathy, and Keyshia still wasn’t feeling better about her life. She needed more; she needed genuine support and guidance.

Keyshia thought, “Okay, maybe I will try this therapy thing; I’ve gotta try something, or I’m going to explode.”

Thoughts arise when deciding to make a change and seek help.

The following day, Keyshia nervously stared at her black laptop screen, waiting for her first online therapy visit to begin. She anxiously pulled at her pajama bottoms, adjusting herself to appear cool and calm before her therapist popped up on the screen.

She sipped her tea, her lips pursed, furrowing her brow in discomfort. “Damn, I just burnt my tongue,” she started to feel nervous. That infamous red “end call” button winked at her from the bottom right corner of her screen, saying, “You’re not ready for this. End it before she shows up!”

Keyshia’s heart raced, and she felt her mouth become dry as a bone. She seriously thought about getting out of this session while she still could. But a few thoughts stopped her.

“Okay, I’ll end the call, and then what? Should I go back to how my previous life was? The one that was dull, uneventful, stressed out at work, no time for me, no fulfilling relationships, physically dragging myself out of bed each morning, crying myself to sleep most nights?” 

“No, I can do this,” Keyshia told herself. And then, another flurry of panicked thoughts rushed into her mind.

“What if this lady thinks my problems are too much to handle? What if she thinks I’m more than a hot mess and I’ll never make progress? Well, there’s only one way to find out. She seemed nice on the phone, so I’ve got to try this at least once.”

Seeking therapy starts with a tiny step toward a better future.

Finally, a warm smile and a soothing voice popped up on the screen, and Keyshia knew if she wasn’t ready, she had to get ready. “No turning back now,” the voice in her head told her. Her therapist was curious about Keyshia sitting stiffly in her seat with a notepad and a pen as if she were in school. Keyshia shifted in her seat and laughed a little to herself. “It’s my first time with this; I didn’t know what to expect or what to bring.”

Keyshia recalled her therapist saying, “I promise this won’t be like a TED talk; it will be like two friends talking and getting to know each other as we discuss what you want out of life. You don’t need anything but yourself.”

With that, Keyshia put down her notepad, relaxed her body posture, and began to talk. Over the next few months, Keyshia met weekly with her therapist online. She discussed her dreams, struggles, childhood, and what was standing in her way of having a serene life.

Keyshia couldn’t believe how much she laughed, cried, and revealed her innermost thoughts in these sessions. She felt comfortable, and once she started talking, she realized she couldn’t stop. But it wasn’t as scary as she thought it’d be.

Making that decision to call was life-changing.

After some time, Keyshia and her therapist got down to the nitty-gritty of everything holding her back and discovered the real Keyshia hiding below the surface.

Keyshia learned to love herself, her self-esteem shot up, and her confidence grew like wildfire. She snagged a better-paying and less stressful job, lived and breathed self-care, and dipped her toe back into the dating pool with much success.

The dread and gloom that followed Keyshia around daily like a shadow she couldn’t escape were gone. She learned to wake up with excitement, joy, and serenity that she had never experienced previously.

Upon reflection, Keyshia knew this new version of herself was possible by one short phone call.

*Example client is a composite of many clients.