Open as a therapist? Yes, if healed
Authenticity and openness: not weakness, but a clinical strength if regulated.
Professional authenticity as the basis, Heartfelt, not unlimited
As a psychologist and future therapist, I'm convinced that safety isn't created by distance, but rather by authenticity. That's why I choose to share certain personal insights publicly, not to cloud the professional relationship with clients, but to strengthen its foundation. Everything I write is done with care, reflection, and responsibility. For me, this openness means sharing what's relevant and helpful for finding recognition, never overstepping boundaries or seeking validation. What I share isn't public therapy. My writing is deeply lived, deeply held, and professionally grounded. It stems from my position as a future practitioner and is embedded in a clinical perspective, not based on my own vulnerability.
Where there is friction, there is contact
What I write can be jarring. That's precisely why I want to create space to discuss any potential impact in contact if neccessairy. Not to focus the conversation on me, but to create clarity in the relational field. So that what lives can also resonate there and doesn't have to settle into silences or assumptions. That, for me, is the essence of professional safety. My personal experiences and frame of reference are inextricably linked to how I develop as a therapist. If I were to try to suppress them, I'd more likely create unconscious noise or unintended countertransference. Contact with clients shouldn't be about me. At the same time, as a person, I am always part of the relationship. Everything I evoke can be discussed, precisely so that it doesn't have to (implicitly) revolve around me.
The experienced therapist is not an actor
My website and articles reflect who I've become as a person. At the same time, in my professional role, I'm no different from the person who writes these texts. My reflections are steeped in clinical reasoning and, where appropriate, academically substantiated. I don't pretend to be perfect; in fact, I believe that pretending to be perfect would compromise my professional integrity. Authenticity allows me to be truly present in connection. Those who need a facade lose sight of trust, boundaries, and (counter)transference. And that, for me, is precisely the essence of genuine professional work: transparency, attunement, and the willingness not to avoid the uncomfortable.
Vulnerability is craftsmanship
I strive for authentic presence, including in how I present myself as a professional. For me, transparency doesn't mean limitlessness, but rather carefully making what's relevant visible. Professionalism is often confused with neutrality or inscrutability. For me, however, it only truly becomes meaningful when someone has the courage to embrace openness, not to take up space, but to offer it. By opening myself up, I gladly invite my (future) clients to do the same, with all their complexity, ambiguity, and shadows. Allow everything to be there.
The road to autonomy starts within
My own path led me to learn to question, regulate, and embrace the deepest layers of my psyche, without constantly relying on external guidance. This path has shaped me into someone who not only values self-direction but also seeks to foster it in others. My openness, therefore, isn't aimed at intimacy as a goal, but rather at creating a space in which clients can learn to embrace their own process and trust their inner compass. Autonomy doesn't grow from safety alone, but from the courage to recognize, acknowledge, and follow your own path.
There is room for everything you are afraid to say outloud
I want to make it clear that there are no taboos. And that, as a professional, I'm more than strong enough to handle that. 😊 And I didn't achieve that strength by always keeping myself out of harm's way, but rather by approaching the work with what I have inside. This allows me to maintain contact with others, without avoiding things out of fear of what they might hurt.
I don't believe in the ideal of the "rounded" therapist. I believe in someone who knows themselves so well that their own process doesn't take up (unspoken) space in the therapeutic alliance, but instead provides a safe, background environment in which the other person's process can unfold.
What you can expect from me as a (future) therapist:
– Heartfelt authenticity, not limitless openness
– Transparency in the service of safety
– Space for what you dare not say
– Reflection and clinical embedding as a foundation
– A therapist who understands their own process and puts you first
Kind regards,
Lauren C. van Stratum