Birch Counseling

Look closely at the bark of a birch tree. It is cracked, and peels in thin layers. Sometimes it looks like it is falling apart. Yet these peelings are a unique adaptation to the tree’s rapid growth. With the shedding of the bark, pathogens fall away and so protect the tree.

We too grow a defensive bark of sorts around our vulnerable core. Like the birch, we need to periodically shed these protective layers for health and growth. It’s a process many of us try to resist because it makes us feel vulnerable in a world that often seems cold and dangerous. Rather than allowing the cracks to peel off our defensive layers, we try to patch them up.

Some of us have many layers of patches, especially if we were hurt deeply and often. It feels like a form of armor and creates the illusion that we can never get hurt again. Over time, this armor makes us sick. It weighs us down and consumes our energy. It gets in the way when we try to connect with others. We can use it to hurt people, especially loved ones, in much the same ways we were hurt.

The armor deprives us of light and air. It keeps us from growing. A sense of emptiness creeps in. We feel bored, sad, lonely, angry, disillusioned, unsure of ourselves, and our purpose. Sometimes addictions develop that provide temporary relief from feeling bad, while making us even more ill.

As you teach us about you, your life, and the situations that brought you to us, we help you shift perspectives so you can start seeing new possibilities. When you allow us to help you peel the layers you no longer need for protection, you may notice feeling lighter and more alive. Through the cracks that once scared you, you can learn to breathe again.