A Therapist's Reflection on Gratitude

By: Dr. Erica Wollerman
Gratitude is a hot topic this time of year and while I try to practice gratitude all year, I certainly emphasize it during the holidays as well. Practicing gratitude is crucial to building an authentic and vulnerable life with priorities that lead to true value, not just material wealth. There are so many things in life that I am grateful for – my fiancé, my work and private practice, my loving family, living in beautiful San Diego and the list could go on and on! Rather than create some long list of things that I am grateful for, I wanted to write something a little different.
 
One of the main things that I am grateful for is being allowed the privilege to walk with my clients through their struggle and their lives. Every day at work I feel truly blessed to be able to support and help people while they are going through challenges as well as through their successes. I recognize that this is a unique position that I have in people’s lives and the blessings that it brings my clients are amazing but the blessings are very real for me as well. Every day that I go to work, I am reminded of the strength and courage people have as well as their ability to overcome their challenges.
 
A quote that I use often in my practice is “I’m thankful for my struggle, because without it I wouldn’t have stumbled across my strength (Alex Elle).”  I have found this to be so very true both personally and professionally. Often, as people, we want to focus on the shiny, happy moments in our lives and forget about the rest. However, I believe that it’s more important to focus on everything and the journey of life, with all of it’s ups and downs. Every day that I work with my clients is a day that I help them focus on the strength and the rebuilding that can come after a fall and for that, I am eternally grateful to them. Through their experiences I have found my own strength, courage, and vulnerability to rebuild my life. There just aren’t enough words to express how valuable that is to me!