“There is…no such thing as autonomy. There is only a distinction between responsible and irresponsible dependence.” – Wendell Berry There’s an idea of therapy that pictures it as a purely self-empowered place, a place that inspires you to take control of your life and be who you really are. But life itself is rarely this way. We need people to support us. It’s not about picking ourselves up by our bootstraps. If the people around us are grieving, we are grieving. If we are in pain, those nearest to us are in pain. We depend on others; they depend on us. I approach therapy as a relationship where we will discover how the story of those you are connected to (and those who may have left), have impacted you and your life. The goal is not to just make you “be yourself,” but for you to feel reintegration in the present. To feel a healthy dependence with others. With this understanding, we can move forward to structure our lives – building heathier habits, new ways of thinking, and strengthening our rhythms in relationships.