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Vesper’s Story

Through creative exploration with a therapist, Vesper found confidence in mind and body and freedom from ruminating thoughts.

Vesper’s Story Transcript

My name is Vesper, and I’m from a small town in southern Middle Tennessee. I currently have three jobs right now—one full-time job and two part-time gigs. For the full-time job, I’m the special education assistant at a high school, and for one of my part-time jobs, I’m a live trivia host. I also love theater, and I’ve had the awesome opportunity to dedicate some of my time to volunteering with the high school I work at, with the drama club there, as the costume coordinator. It’s hard work, but it’s really rewarding being able to see it come alive on stage when it’s all said and done. 

I first contacted them in January of 2021. It was 2020, to say the least, and life was very confusing. I was having way more alone time than I had ever had, really, so I was having a lot of ruminating thoughts that were kind of eating me up. I needed help, but the major reason I decided to find a therapist was due to having a lot of questions attached to my gender, or lack thereof, really, as well as a few other things. Finding out that Insight Counseling has an income-based fee scale was a game changer for me. I saw that and was like, “Yes!” I don’t have the biggest income, so it’s just way easier to budget. Balla on a budget should still be able to take care of their mental health. 

I appreciated that my counselor seems to be happy to see me, and there’s like never really a dull moment with us. I’ve been seeing Amanda for over three years. Something new always happens—Amanda likes to try new things and techniques, which I run with wholeheartedly. I’m pretty open-minded when it comes to my mental health. If I learn something that I want to try in therapy, Amanda reciprocates that open-mindedness, and that’s really appreciated. 

We’ve been doing a brief meditation session, which has been really awesome. We’ve built such a good trust between us. This last session I had with her, I was in tears about some really heavy stuff, and she just seamlessly started leading me in a meditation while I was sobbing. I was like, “OK, I’m going with this, I’m going with it,” and it was just so beautiful. I appreciate the homework she gives me. She knows I like to be artsy, so she uses that as a way to encourage me to process big feelings and life events. The list could go on and on. 

I have only ever had telehealth experiences with Insight Counseling, and I appreciate it. I get to stay in the comfort of my room or car, if needed, and I don’t have to get used to a new environment. I’ve always appreciated being able to just sit on my bed or on my floor and talk. There’s an amazing trust and appreciation that has been built through a screen between Amanda and me, so we’re both in our comfort zones while we explore uncomfortable topics, which I think is awesome. 

So many things have changed for the better. I feel a lot more confident in who I am, both body and mind. I’ve gained the skill of expressing myself; anger and shame no longer eat me up from the inside out. I’m also still in the process of learning how to be less conflict-averse, which I think I’ve gotten way better at since we brought it up in therapy, even though it’s only been a few months. Amanda reminds me that my thoughts are not facts and that I am not my thoughts. It’s really good; it’s really needed to be reminded that I’m not my thoughts. 

I want to tell them to not give up. Don’t give up. You’re never alone. Never. Absolutely never. You may feel like you are, but you’re not. 

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