My profession in life is a psychotherapist for individual and couple counseling. Over the years there have been a lot of very interesting conversations and a few of them spun my ability to remain professional.
One time, over a year ago, I had a new client who came into my office and commented on how they liked my candle in the corner. I always keep a candle lit in the office to remind myself there isn’t enough darkness in the universe to put out light, but that’s another story.
Anyhow, my new client looks at the candle for a minute and then smiles at me and says, “I like incest.”
That got my attention rapidly. “How long has this been going on?”, I asked. The client replied, “I think since I was young, but I’ve liked it more in the last few years. I love the way it makes my house smell.”
At that point I was completely lost, worried about patient rights, concerned about reporting this if there is a victim involved and wondering what in the world to do next. The client then smiled and said, “I like the ones that smell like frankincense the most.”
I had sudden understanding. My client didn't say she liked “incest", she said she liked “incense”. Obviously the session went much easier once I made that distinction. Never did share the story with her, didn’t want her to know how weird her therapist really was. Just say’n.
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