My client was a young, black woman, anxious about fitting in to her new job, and worried that she’d never find anyone to love, with so few eligible black men available. I wondered why she was seeing me. I am a licensed counselor, but I am not, nor have I ever been a black woman. I was young once, but I’m not young now. I’ve started new jobs, but I haven’t been her, starting her new job. I’ve had my days when I thought I’d always be alone, but it was for different reasons. Why would she think I would understand her, much less say what her problem was, and have a good idea of what to do? And yet, as a therapist, I was called upon to empathize, diagnose, and treat someone with a different lived experience.
How to Escape the Identity Trap
Published by Keith R Wilson
I'm a licensed mental health counselor and certified alcohol and substance abuse counselor in private practice with more than 30 years experience. My newest book is The Road to Reconciliation: A Comprehensive Guide to Peace When Relationships Go Bad. I recently published a workbook connected to it titled, How to Make an Apology You’ll Never Have to Make Again. I also have another self help book, Constructive Conflict: Building Something Good Out of All Those Arguments. I’ve also published two novels, a satire of the mental health field: Fate’s Janitors: Mopping Up Madness at a Mental Health Clinic, and Intersections , which takes readers on a road trip with a suicidal therapist. If you prefer your reading in easily digestible bits, with or without with pictures, I have created a Twitter account @theshrinkslinks. MyFacebook page is called Keith R Wilson – Author. View more posts
Keith Wilson - Counseling 
This made me laugh out loud. Thanks. Deb