A therapist’s witch archetype journey
My own journey with the witch archetype has been a long one. And it has been so inextricably linked with my journey as a therapist. As of the writing of this blog, I have been a therapist for twelve years. When I first started my path to becoming a therapist, I wanted to be part of a systemic change in the field of mental health. I wanted to approach my work with people from a humanistic perspective because I knew, firsthand, that the mental health field was not always the empowering and honoring place that I believed it needed to be for true healing.
As I went through graduate school, internships, and the licensing process, something shifted in me. I started to internalize messages about what a therapist “should” be. I started to fear that maybe I was too different, too sensitive, too much of an advocate for clients, too authentic… just too much. I was scared of being judged or ostracized by other therapists, because I had seen it happen so many times.
These weren’t new messages. I had received them throughout my life- stay small, don’t make too many waves, don’t be too sensitive, follow along. Over the past few years, I have started to really look at these messages, where they have come from, and how they have impacted me personally and professionally. Delving into the witch archetype helped me to come back to my inner knowing.
That inner knowing says that there is no right approach to therapy. There are many different therapy paths that can be ethical, healing, and supportive. That is what the witch archetype teaches us. Our paths are all different and they are all sacred. And our healing needs may change throughout our lives. Maybe one type of therapist approach feels really honoring at one time and another one feels more aligned during another time. Maybe therapy isn’t even the answer sometimes. Maybe healing comes through massage, dance, nature, or building community with others.
I trust that we all have a wise inner voice that wants us to heal, to succeed, grow, and flourish. Underneath the pain, the imposter syndrome, the self-doubt, and the loud inner critic, is a part of us that just wants to feel safe, loved, and accepted. The witch honors this. The witch helps us to reclaim this wise inner knowing and to love and accept ourselves fully, including all of our wounded parts. Through this self-honoring, we find liberation to be our beautifully imperfect selves, even when it is scary.