![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newportcomplementaryhealthclinic.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_9498.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nI\u2019ve been lucky enough to welcome a flurry of new clients\u2019 to the clinic over the last few weeks. And it\u2019s those lovely people that have inspired this weeks blog.<\/p>\n
The usual welcome greeting to new clients\u2019 down in reception is, \u201cHi I\u2019m Becki, it\u2019s really nice to meet you (shake hands). Then as we head upstairs there might be a chat about the weather (always), or how awful the parking is (typical), or maybe \u201cDid you find us ok? (often).<\/p>\n
When in the room, I give the client chance to get comfortable on the sofa, take in the surroundings and then we start. I ask, \u201cSo how do you feel about being here today?\u201d. This is potentially one of the most therapeutic questions I could ask a new client – it tells me a lot about them and it tells them something about me. The responses, are varied :<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know why but I feel so emotional (tears)\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel really anxious and apprehensive\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel so weak and upset with myself that I\u2019m not stronger and that I need help\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to it\u201d (rare)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like I have so many problems I don\u2019t know where to start\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019ll be your most broken client\u201d etc etc<\/p>\n
After 32 years, I\u2019ve heard so many variations of the above. Each response tells me a lot about the stranger sat in front of me and it opens up an enlightening conversation.<\/p>\n
I do my utmost to convey to the client that their feelings, on presentation are to be expected. Most have not met me before. Some request an initial phone chat ahead of booking, so they will have a \u2018flavour\u2019 of me and how I can help. Some have come through the website, so those have seen my services on offer and a photo of how I look. Some new clients\u2019 sit in front of me having tried therapy elsewhere – but for a variety of reasons, they need a fresh pair of eyes on their problems. And some, have never reached out to a therapist like me before.<\/p>\n
The common denominator, is that all clients\u2019 that sit in front of me – for whatever reasons they need my help – are all out of other options. They don\u2019t have enough \u2018marbles\u2019 in their jar. I\u2019m often the last port of call.<\/p>\n
I use the \u2018marbles in the jar\u2019 analogy all the time in clinic. There is a jar half full of marbles in my room. The marbles represent resources – emotional, physical, spiritual etc. Life and its challenges are like \u2018hands\u2019 reaching into the jar and stealing marbles. For some, the theft is constant. If we are not taking consistent action to add or replace the lost marbles, then we can very quickly find ourselves with only a few rolling round the bottom of the jar.<\/p>\n
And then……..life deals us a really tough blow – a death, a health diagnosis, a redundancy, a relationship breakup etc, and the hand of life reaches in until we have no resources and we are on our knees. We can\u2019t function. We can\u2019t cope. We fall apart. We breakdown. It\u2019s often at this point, I get contacted.<\/p>\n
Marbles can be added into the jar via ANY personal development. That can look like reading, watching\/listening to podcasts, You Tube videos, TedTalks, therapy, exercise, attention to diet, nutritional supplements, positive social experiences, giving back, random acts of kindness, paying compliments, moments of fun and laughter, gratitude, journaling, meditation, intentional breathing etc etc etc. I have, sadly, seen on many occasions the negative effects to a client and their loved ones, where attention to their marble jar has been neglected. And in times of deep challenge, they face a long, uphill struggle in an attempt to recover.<\/p>\n
So, back to the \u201cHow do you feel about being here today?\u201d……..as part of my response, I tell my clients that i really do understand how daunting it can feel to sit with me. I know that they sense talking about their problems may feel painful. I know it can sometimes take a client years to contact me. I don\u2019t take their apprehensions lightly. I tell them that I will do the very best I can to accommodate their needs, enabling them to feel at ease in my company. I hear them. I get it. I have often been known to say, \u201cI\u2019m not everyone\u2019s cuppa\u2019 tea, but I\u2019m really \u2018normal\u2019 and down to earth, and I\u2019m really good at helping people to get better\u201d<\/p>\n
My clients welfare is always, at the forefront of my mind. I\u2019m an empath – definition – \u201ca person who has a profound ability to sense, absorb and experience the emotions and mental states of others……actually internalising those emotions as if they were their own\u201d.<\/strong> That\u2019s why I can do my job. I care.<\/p>\n In my experience, most of us just want the uninterrupted time and space to be heard. And as a coach, I listen and based upon what I hear, my professional experience and trainings, and my real life lived experience – I\u2019m qualified to give advice. We can talk about the problems all day, but what are we going to DO about them? That\u2019s my approach – lets take some action and get some marbles back in that jar.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not everyone\u2019s cuppa tea, but I am here and if you can be bold, brave and reach out, if you allow me to, I can help.<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019ve been lucky enough to welcome a flurry of new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newportcomplementaryhealthclinic.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newportcomplementaryhealthclinic.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newportcomplementaryhealthclinic.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newportcomplementaryhealthclinic.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newportcomplementaryhealthclinic.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3534"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newportcomplementaryhealthclinic.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3537,"href":"https:\/\/www.newportcomplementaryhealthclinic.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3534\/revisions\/3537"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newportcomplementaryhealthclinic.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newportcomplementaryhealthclinic.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newportcomplementaryhealthclinic.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newportcomplementaryhealthclinic.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_9472.jpeg\")