In May of 2015 I was invited to The Ranch treatment center in Tennessee for a professional’s weekend where therapist, psychiatrist, and other mental health professionals get to experience what clients may experience by attending their inpatient program. Immediately after I said yes to going, I regretted it. I was having a very hard time at that time in my life, and I just did not know if I was emotionally able to summon up the energy to wear a smile all weekend long and attend this retreat. As the weekend got closer I thought, “maybe I just won’t go.” Even though my ticket had been purchased for me and it truly was too late to back out now. So, I went. As I got on the plane I could feel the anxiety and homesickness enter into my body, I just did not want to go. When I landed in Tennessee I start meeting other professionals and I could feel in my body that my “guard was still up” and that I wasn’t about to let people in. As we were doing groups and getting into the experiential treatment at The Ranch I started to ease into the weekend more. By the third day I completely let go. And I am so glad I did. The healing I was able to have and give myself was incredible. The staff at The Ranch were wonderful and I felt safe to let myself be myself! Which was not something I had done for quite some time. After leaving The Ranch I was not the same person that I was when I went there. It was absolutely a God thing for me. It was as if magic occurred for me that weekend and I’ve been changed ever since. I will be forever grateful for the staff and healing I was able to experience at The Ranch.

I feel like this is the same type of things that happens to clients in therapy. They think, “I’ll call…maybe all show up… is it too vulnerable and scary? Can I do this? Maybe I’ll go once…” and when clients do show up, so many times they tell me, “I had no idea what I was going to talk about, but I’m so glad I came, I had so much to say!” The greatest advice I can give to you is show up. Come. See what happens. You never know until you try. I felt the same way you may feel before going to The Ranch, so I absolutely get it. I’ve been there. Now it’s your turn.