On the Edge

A young woman, trapped in a dead end, seeks help from a psychotherapist at the beginning of her career. From the very first moment, the therapist feels a deep desire to help her find her footing. As their relationship unfolds, however, she realizes that things are far from simple—for either of them. Through their work together, intense emotions are triggered, memories surface, wounds begin to heal, and life lessons emerge for both, leading them toward a sense of redemption.

The author—herself a psychotherapist—wrote this book as a lived, experiential guide for new therapists, while also offering insight and encouragement to those who wish, but perhaps hesitate, to enter the world of psychotherapy.

Excerpts from the book

Jealousy, I thought immediately. The greatest myth in relationships is that those who love, feel jealous. The truth is quite different. Jealousy belongs to those who are insecure—those who carry their early wounds into every new relationship.

Most women have a difficult relationship with their mothers, shaped by many factors—especially in Greece. There is the universal issue of a mother’s jealousy toward her daughter, who is always younger, more beautiful, with more opportunities. But in Greece, there is also the enduring pattern of maternal self-sacrifice. The mother who chooses to abandon her own life—everything that once made her happy—in order to raise her children…

Her gaze, somewhere between anger and disappointment, confirmed my thoughts. At that moment, I was facing an overwhelming dilemma—too great for the inexperienced therapist I still was. On one side, the timeless issue of personal disclosure. On the other… I felt that if I didn’t offer her a small piece of myself in that moment, she would place me among the same hypocrites in her life—those who withhold their personal truth in order to maintain the upper hand in judging her. I chose to take the risk…