I said I wanted to highlight the efforts of the individuals I see on a daily basis. If I were asked to pick one person who stood out, I don’t believe I would be able to do it. They are all incredibly amazing in their own way. There is however, one group that stands out to me and those are my young/early adult males. When I was a young therapist I recall stating that the young adult male was my least preferred client because they “knew everything” or were the most uncooperative. I can say today half of my clients are males between the ages of 25-40. I am constantly amazed by their desire to make changes in their lives and by their willingness to step out of their comfort zone and put their trust in me.
These men come in for a variety of reasons; post trauma recovery, anger management, relationship counseling, career coaching. Regardless the reason, the motivation is within all of them.
They sit in my office comfortably distanced from me on the opposite side of my desk, hoping the barriers of my tablet and laptop will protect them from emotional vulunerability. It doesn’t. I anxiously await the day when they are able to come in and sit on the rich dark brown leather loveseat and relax. One day. Their pens and notebooks are in hand waiting for a task, because we can’t possibly just sit and talk about stuff. I especially appreciate the ones who talk nearly the entire time even though their first sentence was, “I don’t share my feelings with people and I won’t do it here.” Okay.
These men have made a choice to try something new. To take a different path. They have stepped out of the box and allowed themselves to be vulnerable and available for change. That is a pretty scary place to be and I can’t help but respect and appreciate it. Hats off to the men seeking to better themselves. I’ve got your back.
The Crossroads 
As a teenager going to therapy, I can relate to people not wanting to open up like that. The best thing I can do is stare at the ceiling and ramble until we get to the meat of the issues.