"If I Could Save Time In A Bottle"...Embracing Our Authentic Selves - My First Therapist

Born and raised in Italy in 1957, Monica Magnetti moved to Canada in 1977 without speaking a word of English. Now a published author, motivational speaker, and coach, she lives part of the year in Italy (Bergamo), Canada (Vancouver), and the United States (Santa Monica). Monica’s desire to stay connected to her Italian roots while replanting in North America has been the catalyst for creating a business that she can manage from anywhere in the world. Monica consults on the phone, as well as in person, so she can provide the same personal, interactive, and effective coaching to all her international clientele. Her traveling, her multicultural background, and her passion for life make Monica a well-rounded coach for any woman interested in expanding her horizon.

How to reach Monica:  www.lunacoaching.com, monica@lunacoaching.com, or telephone 866 449 5862, C. 604 760 8205 

My First Therapist

The first time I went to an analyst I was wearing a white cotton jacket and my mauve backless dress with printed swimmers on it. It was summer. I was scared. I remember being early for the first one hour session, parking the car and realizing that the meter only had a half hour of parking time. I took my chances. I got a ticket.

His name was Doctor Child. He was part of a new program so he didn't have his own office but was confined to the end of the alimentary pavilion of the hospital. I had to walk through a basketball court to get there. I waited in a corridor that ended at a door with his name on it. There was an ugly green couch and National Geographic magazines lying on a wood veneered coffee table. I was twenty-two. The only reason I stayed was because I was afraid I would be caught running away through the basketball court. 

Dr. Child was tall and skinny and had a very accentuated wandering eye. I couldn't tell if he was talking to me or somebody else behind me. A few times I had to turn around to make sure nobody else was there. He reminded me of a crazy inventor out of some cartoon I had watched on television as a child. I followed him through the corridor into his "room.” He sat on his chair, pointed to yet another ugly couch where I was supposed to sit, and turned on a tape recorder.

I went to see him twice a week, for about a month, until he told me that he had been offered a better job in Winnipeg and that he'd be moving. He wanted to book me with another analyst. It was a real shock. We were just getting accustomed to each other, and I was just getting comfortable talking into a tape recorder. He said that his patients were important to him, but his career, oh well his career was his career. Just like my ex-husband. He said he understood my fears of being abandoned, especially after my divorce. He was right. I cried for a long time and that is the reason why I'll be thankful to him forever. He was the one who taught me how to cry and show my emotions, never to be ashamed of them. I remember he used to fall asleep every once in a while. 

That's how I started building my self-confidence, talking into a tape recorder with a cross-eyed analyst sleeping in front of me. My medical insurance covered all the costs of my sessions, but that first therapy cost me a fortune in parking tickets.