I have a large aluminum sculpture in my office that my mother created. It is a useful tool in describing what happens in successful therapy. An artist has an image of what the final result will be. A metal sculpture begins as a large clay block. To create the sculpture she took away the clay that is not part of the image she had in her mind. When she finished taking away all of the clay that was not the sculpture she had it cast in aluminum. I see effective therapy as pretty much the same process. We begin with the image of what we were created as at birth. As time goes on we are triggered by fear, insecurity, trauma, loss, pain, and other baggage that we attach to our original birth image and as time goes on we lose our original form. The purpose of therapy is to remove that baggage that is not part of us but prevents us from moving, sleeping, breathing, speaking, and relaxing; allowing us to be comfortable in our minds and bodies again. It allows us to be able to interact with the world and others as our true selves.
I also use the image of carrying a backpack of rocks that has been accumulated along the way. Each rock represents unnecessary stuff we have collected in life. Visualizing taking off the backpack allows immediate feedback to the body which usually results in noticeable release of tension and sometimes long held pain, particularly around the neck and shoulders.
Effective therapy is not about fixing someone who is broken; it is about pealing away the layers of trauma, negative beliefs, repressed emotions, and fear that builds up over a lifetime. It is okay to leave that baggage behind and become the person you were created to be.