What Two Trees Taught Me About Therapy

A recent walk along the West Sussex Border Path gave me an unexpected lesson in perspective, one that felt like a good analogy for the therapeutic relationship.

In the distance, I saw two trees that looked as though they were growing together. Could that be possible, I wondered? Were they somehow part of each other?

As I got closer, I saw what was really going on. They were simply two trees, planted side by side, with a branch from the first reaching out in front of the second. From a distance, they'd looked connected. Close up, they were clearly two trees, each independent of the other.

Over time, I'll say less, because you'll be more able to work things out for yourself. We might meet less often too, just an occasional check-in on how things are going. And eventually, you may not need me at all, because you'll have internalised what you need to carry your own life forward.

Like the trees, we're never really joined. But for a while, walking this stretch of path together, it can look and feel as though we are.

Over time, I'll say less, because you'll be more able to work things out for yourself. We might meet less often too, just an occasional check-in on how things are going. And eventually, you may not need me at all, because you'll have internalised what you need to carry your own life forward.

Like the trees, we're never really joined. But for a while, walking this stretch of path together, it can look and feel as though we are.