Validation!

I love Wednesdays!  It's usually the day I meet with my therapist, so I get to talk about a bunch of different things and learn a lot of new things as well.  I started seeing this therapist when J and I were going through a bit of a rough patch because of drama with his family and unresolved issues from when we were dating.  I found him on our insurance website, so it was pretty random that we ended up there.  I grew up in a family that didn't think negatively of going therapy or seeking counseling, so it was very easy for me to adapt; however, J had a hell of a time getting used to it.  After one of our particularly rough sessions, he decided he was no longer interested in going back.  At first, I was super disappointed and upset that he didn't want to go back.  We had a long talk, and he promised me that he would try on his own and if things didn't work out, then he'd try again.  Well, I guess the boy REALLY didn't want to go back, because things have been amazing since then, lol.  It's going on almost a year, if not more.

It turns out that the therapist (MA) and I have tons in common, so the relationship has evolved to something of a professional friendship.  He's just so smart that I love talking to him about different things.  Sometimes, I really need to vent about something that's going on, but a lot of times, it becomes a lesson on different psychology theories.  Today was a lesson-type of day!  I was talking to him about a few things that J and I had been talking about as we get more serious about TTC.  It's really allowed me to reflect on the type of parent that I wish to be.  I was telling him that even though this journey is taking a lot longer than we expected or wanted, seeing unplanned pregnancies around me really opened my eyes to what can happen when the parents are in unstable/unhealthy relationships.  I'm of the belief that babies shouldn't be born with jobs.

Apparently, there is a psychiatrist, Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, that was a pioneer in the whole subject of family therapy and children's psychological rights!  One of the terms that he is linked to is called parentification, and it's the very thing that I say, "babies should not be born with jobs"!  I KNEW I wasn't crazy to think that one of the most irresponsible things is to bring a child into and unstable and unhealthy relationship, and there's research that proves it, lol!

Talking to MA about all these things, really reinforces my decision to pursue psychology/psychiatry, namely the pediatric and family aspect of it.  There really isn't a need for me to continue therapy at this time, but I learn so much from him, that I'm not sure how to tear myself away.