Yesterday was another very long day in the clinic in both the number of clients I saw and also the degree of difficulty of the problems these clients presented. For a couple of them, this was their first session. For others, I had seen them a number of times previously. On this particular day, all of the clients were improving, making progress toward full functionality. Just for the record, there are other days when it seems like every client is making no progress at all. Welcome to real life.
Thinking about that, this is not unlike the art of the cello. As a new cello student of about two years, there are stretches where I don't feel I am making an iota of improvement, which will be followed by another period where it feels like I am making tremendous leaps in ability.
The key is not to get attached to either, just keep practicing. Focus on process, not product. If you trust the process, the product will improve over time.
One of my clients yesterday was deeply appreciative of the help I had given them, which was far more than the multitude of other health care providers had done for her. While the accolades are nice, my first thought was, in a way, how simple the process had been. Should any of the participants in the seminars have observed the earlier sessions, they wouldn't have seen some magic technique that wasn't in the manual. It was straight-ahead PNMT, just what we teach.
Yet, I also know that it is likely that I might have helped this person when another therapist, doing the same approach, might not have. Why? While she was profusely thanking me, this is all I could think of.