Notes from the Treehouse

Those of you who received my snailmail newsletters in the past may remember that my logo is a treehouse. (And no, I do not only work with children!) Adults can enjoy treehouses, too! I was recently visiting a friend’s house, and she took me into her backyard to show me the treehouse her father had built a few years ago “for her children.” “But,” she confessed, “I use it more than they do!” Several people have sent me links about “hotels” that are actually treehouses and I am excited to watch a new show I recently stumbled upon called, Treehouse Masters, on Animal Planet.

You may still be wondering, though, why a treehouse? First, let’s consider the tree, which provides a picture of a life that is based on both groundedness (think of strong trunks and deep roots) and flexibility (branches and leaves that move with the wind). Imagine then looking up into a tree, and way up there is a branch with a “house” sitting on it (which may only be a couple of boards!) A rope ladder, or some more boards nailed into the trunk of the tree may be the only way to get up there. And here is a great metaphor for the tension between both the safety and the risk that is inherent in the process of therapy. We need to feel safe and supported in the counseling setting, and at the same time it is important that we are challenged to grow. And as we know, growth involves risk. And so you climb, step by (what may feel) precarious step!

A treehouse, then, offers us a place and a means to escape from the world, even while it allows us to see the world in a new way. We get a new way of seeing things, and we get to try out new skills. And, like Calvin (from the comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes), we decide who we will allow in (his sign said, “No Girls Allowed”), what we will bring with us and what we will leave behind. My hope is that my office will be such a place for those who are looking to explore and begin seeing the world from a new perspective. And if we are willing to make the climb, what a view we will find!

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Monday:

1:00 pm-9:00 pm

Tuesday:

1:00 pm-9:00 pm

Wednesday:

1:00 pm-9:00 pm

Thursday:

1:00 pm-9:00 pm

Friday:

1:00 pm-6:00 pm

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Closed

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