[at-l] April's Introductions {WAS One year ago today}

[orangebug74 at yahoo.com (Orange Bug)]

April Flowers thinks she needs a trail name!
Fuggedabowdit. That moniker won't be believed by
anyone.

As many others have experienced, long distance hiking
is seen as somewhat crazy to many flatlanders. She
mentioned her therapist "has tried to talk me out of
it. My favorite so far is 'there might be serial
killers on that trail, how would we know if you needed
help?'"

As someone who knows a bit about psychotherapy, I'd
encourage April to discuss this a bit with the
therapist. Sometimes, therapists forget who is on the
couch. Why would this therapist have fantasies of
serial killers? Why would this therapist entertain
fantasies of rescue? Of course, I assume a great deal
that her quotes are accurate. If these are accurate,
some thought into countertransference would be helpful
for both therapist and patient.

There are good reasons for those in psychotherapy to
consider and reject hiking as a sport. Journaling is
one of the best psychotherapeutic outcomes I've seen
from our sport. There are plenty of negative voices
one brings onto the trail. Journaling is a great way
to exorcise them.

Bill...