Life Is More Than a Moment

"Life Is More Than a Moment.

That was pretty much what Hazel had told Linda Monk when they first spoke over the phone" (p. 242).

In the case of Hazel, as well as Elizabeth, it only took a moment in time to define who they both were. Elizabeth a hero. And Hazel a hateful person. But as we can all see through this book, there was so much more to both of them. I think this is an important idea for us to carry over in our work as therapists. In my internship, I am constantly reminded of this quote. Each day I am constantly learning new snippets from different member's lives. Some snapshots of their lives surprise me and some do not. But as a therapist it is important to continue to assess our clients each time we meet with them. There are always new things to learn about a person as well as multiple experiences and descriptors that make up a person.

When it comes to culture, we need to be aware of cultural differences. But we also need to make sure that we are not defining a client solely on their culture. In Kottler's book, On Being a Therapist, he shares a quote that rang true to me. He starts off the paragraph by explaining how a therapist might approach someone from a different cultural background. He then goes on to explain:

The greater truth is that we would sometimes do better by throwing our theories out the window and meeting each person not just as a representative of his or her cultural group but as a completely unique individual with an assortment of cultural identities that include far more than ethnicity, race, and religion (p. 9).

I think this idea translates to Hazel's original quote, Life Is More Than a Moment. A client's identity is more than their cultural background and if we do not get beyond this, we are not understanding the full identity of the client.