You Don’t Have to Perform in Therapy – You Just Get to Be

Annie Best
6 days ago
2 min read

Hi, I’m Annie – and if you’re new here, welcome. I offer counselling in Basingstoke, and one of the most common things I hear from new clients is:"I wasn’t sure what to say.""I felt like I had to explain everything perfectly.""I was worried about upsetting you."

So I wanted to take a moment to say something really important:

You don’t have to perform in therapy. You don’t have to get it right. You don’t even have to know where to start.

Therapy is your space. That means it gets to be messy, emotional, quiet, confused, tearful, angry, hopeful, and everything in between. You don’t have to hide your feelings, minimise your pain, or manage the room. You just get to be.

Therapy is a space where:

🌿 You don’t have to worry about your counsellor – we’re trained to take care of ourselves.

🌿 You don’t have to explain or justify your pain – if it hurt, it matters.

🌿 You don’t have to make excuses for how others treated you – we can talk honestly here.

🌿 You don’t have to worry about betraying someone by sharing your story – your story is yours.

If you’re seeking anxiety counselling in Basingstoke, or if life just feels overwhelming and you don’t know where to start, please know: you are welcome here, exactly as you are. No fixing required. No polished version of you needed.