Originally Posted by
naive 
i remember my first two or three sessions, all i did was talk. she didn't really say much.
but i felt better just verbalizing it.
did you not experience any relief in just talking?
I remember going to a very nice "motherly" woman back when I was in the "thick" of it with my axw. Man I didn't know which end was up I was so stuck and confused.
I'd picked her mainly because she was on my insurance plan, and she was close to my office. I had to go during work, on the down low, from my then aw.
I don't believe she was particularly experienced with alcoholism, because when I would relate the latest weeks "side show" to her, she used to just look at me like I had two heads. I remember at the end of our sessions, she would just pat me on the shoulder and shake her head and say, "Hang in there". Ha.
Funny, I felt kind of sorry for her, because she was so far out of her league with all the drama/chaos that was my life. I told her at the end of one of our sessions, "Don't worry, just having a place to spill my guts for an hour every week is pretty helpful to me."
After the wheels fell completely off and we were in the CPS system and I'd been "sentenced" to Alanon by a judge, I quit going to her because things began to change, and I wasn't so "paralyzed" any more.
But I was grateful for all the hours she just listened quietly. A year or so later, after I was out and had custody of my little girl, I called her to let her know we'd made it safely to the other side. She sounded grateful for the update.
Thanks and God bless us all,
Coyote