For the patient : for most patients, it is not easy to take the decision, which will entail talking about things that are very private, secret, linked to desire, or the absence of sexual urge, need, boredom… a deeply buried discomfort of feeling of unease.

The first minutes of the consultation are tricky and decisive. The patient has a legitimate expectation of being welcomed, listened to, helped in order to find the right answers.

For the therapist : over and above questions of  modesty and taboo, the challenge is to go beyond what is not stated. The difficulty is to interpret what remains INVISIBLE.

A humanistic approach makes it possible to establish a close, supportive relationship conducive to a meeting of minds between the patient or the couple and the therapist. The patient is welcomed without moral judgment or evaluation. We are entrusted with painful, selective memories and emotions, and empathy is a valuable, reliable tool that goes hand in hand with real professional competence.
 

Quote from IRVIN YALOM (Psychotherapist) :
"We are the repository of secrets".