Many people wonder how therapists manage to sit in a chair week after week, listening to other people’s pain and longing. The answer lies partly in those rare, luminous moments when something shifts—when a client takes a leap out of longstanding misery, or when the depth of connection in the room feels unlike anything therapist or client has every experienced before. But of the thousands of meaningful sessions that take place in a consulting room, certain ones stand out.
Sometimes it’s a seemingly ordinary observation that turns out to be revelatory. At other times, therapists hold their breath and take an enormous risk, having no clue whether what they’re about to say will fly or fail. A client’s story might trigger a scene from therapists’ own lives, illuminating a personal struggle they didn’t know they were still carrying. But whatever sparks that sense of surprise, trepidation or recognition, it can leave a permanent stamp. These kinds of sessions aren’t just memorable—they’re the ones that remind us why the challenging, intimate work of therapy matters, and what it means to be present for the most vital stories of people’s lives. Here, six therapists share some of their most meaningful, memorable sessions.
Crossing to Safety
Through playful challenge and a $50 bet, Courtney Armstrong helps a fearful client cross emotional bridges and learns to take risks herself.
The Uninvited Guest
Hedy Schleifer tells the story of a client couple that transform resentment and silence into shared acknowledgements of inner worlds and renewed intimacy.
Happy New Year?
Ron Taffel reflects on navigating teen rebellion and parental fear, finding that honesty around uncertainty can preserve trust and connection.
Keeping the Faith
Mary Jo Barrett reflects on her first abuse case and learning how healing can begin when clients are trusted to define what they truly need.
In the Valley of the Shadow
Margaret Nichols gives intimate insights into her own journey pursuing therapy in the aftermath of her daughter’s passing.
The Found and the Lost
Terry Real shares the story of a couple’s transformation leading up to, and in the wake of, unexpectedly losing their daughter.
Courtney Armstrong
Courtney Armstrong, LPC, MHSP, is a Board Certified Fellow in Clinical Hypnotherapy and has trained thousands of mental health professionals in creative, brain-based strategies for healing trauma. She’s a bestselling author of the book, The Therapeutic “Aha!”: 10 Strategies for Getting Clients Unstuck and Transforming Traumatic Grief and is the owner/director of Tamarisk: A Center for Mind-Body Therapy in the state of Tennessee.
Ron Taffel
Ron Taffel, PhD, is Chair, Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy in NYC, the author of eight books and over 100 articles on therapy and family life.
Mary Jo Barrett
Mary Jo Barrett, MSW, is the founder and director of Contextual Change and coauthor of Treating Complex Trauma: A Relational Blueprint for Collaboration and Change and The Systemic Treatment of Incest.
Margaret Nichols
Margaret Nichols, PhD, CSTS, is a psychologist, sex therapist, and author of The Modern Clinician’s Guide to Working with LGBTQ+ Clients. She has more than 40 years of experience doing therapy with sex-, gender-, and relationship-diverse people, and she identifies as queer.
Hedy Schleifer
Hedy Schleifer, MA, LMHC, an internationally known couples therapist and clinical trainer, is the founder of the Tikkun Learning Center and the originator of Encounter-centered Couples Therapy (EcCT).
Terry Real
Terry Real, LICSW, is an internationally recognized couples therapist, speaker, author, and founder of the Relational Life Institute (RLI). His latest bestseller is Us: How to Get Past You and Me to Build a More Loving Relationship. He’s also the author of I Don’t Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression (Scribner), the straight-talking How Can I Get Through to You? Reconnecting Men and Women, and The New Rules of Marriage: What You Need to Make Love Work.
