Dear Amy, Working with you was more enriching and satisfying than I could have imagined. From the moment I reached out to you or first spoke to you on the phone about working together, I felt embraced and cared for. I didn’t feel like there was a superficial business exchange about what the issues were and how we could work together on them. I felt like I was talking to someone who didn’t need to know anything about me to really care, to make me feel completely at ease, comfortable and open to share, and never judged. That allowed me to be open about anything I thought could be relevant, and receptive to pointers about the role I might be playing in my difficulties with my daughter.
During the four months of us working together, I felt like you connected with our situation, and when sharing resources or strategies, you made relevant and meaningful connections between my experience and my daughter’s and how they could be helpful. I’ve told you before that hearing from you about struggling with similar issues as a parent de-stigmatized some of it for me as well. So much of my experience as a parent feels like it needs to stand up to other people’s judgment and opinion and it can feel isolating or like I, specifically, am doing something wrong.
I really appreciated the playbook questions to be answered before and after the calls, as they kept me focused and helped me recenter before our calls. They are now a journal of sorts, and an invaluable document as I continue to work on growing through these challenges that have decreased dramatically.
It was an extraordinary process to not just learn about my daughter’s style and temperament, or her values and strengths, but to also see how this was an opportunity for me to grow. You helped me to see my daughter clearly and value her for who she is, how to bring the best out of her, and you helped me see how to bring the best out of myself as a parent. As a part of this process I found peace with the fact that this is a long term objective and that there is gradual change, while at the same time, the same issues (and new ones) will continue to arise.
I tell everyone I can about the impact of this experience on my person, my relationship with my daughter, and on our family. I foresee that I will return again and again as new challenges arise, and I’m so looking forward to it.
My sincerest gratitude for everything!