Therapy Session On TV

This week, I met Dino. He is a “cutter” for over 10 years now, hurts his body multiple times when lonely. GMA 7 TV station called me to “shoot” a therapy session with him for a new program entitled “Out of Control.” They got Dino’s consent to go public and they said the “shoot” is just to facilitate his beginnings towards recovery.

I’m not sure why this TV station selected me to conduct a “session” on camera. Deep inside me, I feel compassion for Dino and what he’s going through. Yet, for reasons only Dino knows, he agrees to a somewhat compromised setting for the start of his recovery process.

On camera, I was able to introduce three things to Dino, despite the limitedness of time and the setting. One, the beginnings of his “emergent awareness” to locate the pain that produces his self-cutting. Two, an “action plan” was laid down with 4 steps written by Dino. And three, I was able to hand over to Dino a “24/7 therapy book” wrapped as a gift.

Letting go can represent a successful cure. In the case of Dino, I have necessary doubts, for he was just starting. The TV crew and myself let go after the “shoot” and may not see him again. There is now no way we can see how he’ll progress, learn his lessons, obliterate his suffering, and stay motivated to get on with the rest of his life.