Suzanne helped me to change my life

written by Sally (age 38)

I started seeing Suzanne Sommer over two years ago at a point in my life where I truly didn't hold much hope for my future. I had been seeking help for addiction for over 14 years. I'd had some success in the past but it hadn't been lasting. Over two years ago I'd just gotten clean again after a long relapse and was doing the usual relapse prevention, 12 step fellowship support things, but I knew I needed more support as it hadn't been enough to really hold me in the past. That was when I turned to Suzanne and Gestalt Therapy.

One of the most painful things about my drug use was the damage it did to my relationship with myself and of course those around me. I found that other forms of help in the past had asked me to trust their way of seeing and doing without much input from me. At times this helped but it didn't facilitate deep and lasting change the way that working with Suzanne has.

I'd had many violations of trust from early in life and I'd lived in a way where I often couldn't even trust myself so for me finding a therapist that could offer authentic trust has been invaluable. Suzanne offered me a place to open up and trust her but in turn to also trust myself just as much.

Suzanne offered me a truly safe space to process difficult trauma and pain. Through Gestalt Therapy I've been shown what healthy emotional intimacy is where I can experience autonomy and authentic support. I have been able to use my therapy experience as a marker in my life to look for supportive relationships outside therapy.

As I've experienced such a supportive relationship with Suzanne I've also been able to heal the relationship with myself and those around me. Working with Suzanne has allowed me to feel equal to everybody else in the world. Often as an abuse survivor, ex drug addict and sufferer of depression it's been easy to see myself as the problem in every situation or as intrinsically damaged and therefore somehow less than others. I've been able to see where I can change my own behaviour, have a voice and to really trust myself.

Meeting Suzanne as a therapist has seemed divinely inspired because it has made such a change to my life that I'd not thought possible. I can now enjoy a life where I like myself a good deal of the time, even love myself. I don't feel as though I have to take any medication or follow anyone else's prescribed ideas and I can forgive other people and myself more quickly than before. Also, I really trust that whatever mess I do make in my life that I'm not going to need to use drugs to get me through. I still visit dark places where I lose hope or I'm overwhelmed and confused but they don't last like they used to and they don't undo the good work I've done.

I can't give enough credit to Suzanne for making all the difference in my recovery. Also, the best thing is that it is working together, where I get as much credit as Suzanne for the therapeutic relationship, that has made my recovery as successful as it is. That for me is the key difference in Gestalt Therapy from all the other help I'd accessed before. Suzanne made me a part of my own recovery, so it's meaningful and lasting.