A Tribute to My Daughter's Therapist

In April of 2010 my husband and I were at a loss as to what to do to help our daughter. Upon the advice of the school psychologist we started researching a family counselor. The therapist we eventually chose was referred to us by a pastor from our church.

From the moment we walked into Miss R's office we immediately knew we were in the right place. She talked to our daughter privately while my husband and I filled out some paperwork, one of which was the Connor's Rating Scale, a survey that measures the likelihood of a child having ADHD. As we left that first meeting, we scheduled a follow up appointment with just my husband and I.

For a long time after the first initial sessions, our therapist became a cog in the wheel for us. She had been down this path many times before. She knew what we needed to do, who we needed to talk to, what books to read etc. She even had the names and numbers of references, one of which ended up being our daughter's wonderful psychiatrist whom we also are very thankful for.

Miss R was very frank with us from the very beginning.  She never sugar coated what we were dealing with. We were told, "Your daughter has severe ADHD. I also think she may have Bipolar Disorder based on your family history of mental illness." We were in shock and disbelief but not without hope.

At one of our first visits, she told us that she wanted to see our daughter on a weekly basis but she also knew that my husband and I needed support in how to parent her. So we agreed to see her on a weekly basis as well.

In addition to being an MFT, Miss R is a registered play therapist. This means that Princess is able to receive counseling through play. Miss R became someone who Princess looks forward to seeing every week. There were a number of times that I thought we'd be asked not to come back the following week due to Princess’ outbursts and meltdowns but every week we were still welcomed into her office with open arms and a smile.

This "Feelings Doctor", as Princess calls her, truly has a gift. I get the sense that she feels this is her calling in life.

When Princess was at her most unstable points, I could call Miss R and expect a return call in sometimes as little as twenty minutes. She gave us advice in many crisis situations.

It's hard to believe that we've been with Miss R for over 4 1/2 years now. The time has just flown by. We know how rare it is to find such a competent and caring therapist let alone one from the very beginning. It was important to my husband and I that Princess really like her therapist otherwise it would be a struggle to get her to attend her weekly sessions. There have only been one or two times out of the many, many appointments that Princess did not want to see Miss R. I can't help to think that God had His hand in choosing this special lady. I know that my family is grateful to have this professional in our lives.

By the way- Her initial gut feeling that our daughter had Bipolar Disorder has been confirmed by a number of medical doctors.