Hi Graham;

Thanks for writing. No worries about causing fear, it wasn't your doing and
it wasn't serious.

I am encouraged by what you wrote, as it is completely in line with my
thinking and most importantly with my experience in life. My childhood abuses
were
repressed for decades. When things first started to surface, about four years
ago or so, it terrified me and caused me to fear I was losing my mind. I
knew nothing about PTSD, flashbacks, body memory and the like, so I feared
insanity. I cautiously informed the therapist I was seeing, "I think something
might have happened to me when I was a kid" - type of remark. He told me to
read
a book on "False Memory Syndrome". What was trying to surface promptly went
back hiding, so to speak, and it was only after a quick change in doctors and
then nearly another year before bits and pieces started to surface again.
Thank you for sharing your beliefs.

I understand your girlfriend's struggle in believing in her worth. Is she in
good recovery? It's hard to have a solid sense of self (no pun intended!)
and good self esteem for many of us with our histories. It's also hampered by
the societal view and even the majority of the mental health field, in my
opinion. It helps when one can view multiplicity as more of an asset than
liability. Does she have a supportive and positive network? Hope so. Sounds
like
she's lucky to have you in her corner as well as your clients, with the approach
you described having in your practice. I'm lucky enough to currently have a
therapist who sees things in the same light.

Feel free to write,

Jen



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