An amazing person on my journey

I started seeing her four months before I met my wife.  I was a mess.  I had moved out of the group home I had been living in for two years just a year before.  I had only been living in my own apartment for five months, and although I was loving it, I was lonely.  I was working part-time at Target and had decided to see a therapist of my own volition.  I'm so glad I made that choice to start seeing her.

One day, I just looked up therapists and I found her, right up the street from my apartment.  I wasn't sure how I felt about her at first.  I had really come to not like therapy all that much, since having some bad experiences before.  But, she changed that part of me.

Janet is a clinical social worker and she is my therapist.  She has been with me through so much that I don't know how she still wants to be my therapist.  Janet has talked with me about everything, and she is the only other person, besides Stacey, who knows me better than I know myself.  She really does.  She knows how I will react to things, although we have been working on me being pro-active instead of reactive since the day I started therapy with her. It's been almost eight years since then.

We've talked about everything- my anger toward my mom and family, my being freaked out about being a lesbian (turns out she is one too and it made me so happy the day I asked her about that and she was truthful with me), and the symptoms of my illnesses, etc.  I was just so glad that there was someone else like me out there, and she was living a successful life.

We often talked about my fear that God wouldn't love me anymore because of my being a lesbian, but she just kept reassuring me that she believed that He did and that I would be okay.

Like I said, I met my wife just four months after Janet became my therapist and that was a rough time in my life. I was scared and would often get into fights with my then-girlfriend, Stacey.  Stacey would come to see Janet with me and we would talk about what was going on.  Janet was extremely helpful when it came to Stacey and I meeting with her.  We knew that she cared about us both and was willing to talk through anything with us.

I have wanted to leave therapy many times, but Janet's and my steadfastness in keeping with the therapy has kept it going for almost eight years.

Janet has let me scream, use curse words, let out my anger and frustration, and cry during our sessions.  She has been there when I have called her in crisis a couple of times, and has helped me through so much that I can't even remember everything.

She has done so much for me and has helped me to love and accept myself.  She is a very big part of my journey to wellness and that is awesome, in my opinion.

She came to Stacey's and my wedding and I was so glad she was there!

I used to see her once a week, and now I see her once a month, and sometimes not even that often.  The reason is because she has taken what used to be a mess of a human being and helped me become an inspired and inspiring woman.

Janet has helped me be able to take care of myself and my family and be okay with who I am.  She's a wonderful person and I'm so glad that she's on this journey with me.
(The picture is of Janet and me on Stacey's and my wedding day)