I have a client who wants to quit. My interpretation is that she has thoughts which are creating feelings and result that she doesn’t want, and her desire to quit is an attempt to change the circumstance to gain relief from these uncomfortable feelings.

I’ve suggested we meet to discuss this (she told me she wants to quit via email), she does not want to meet and just wants a refund. Over the past 24 hours I have spent so much time thinking about this woman and the things I want to say to her to get her to see this differently. I tuned out at the end of my yoga class today because I was so preoccupied with this situation. I’m curious about why this situation is dominating my thoughts. I think my thought is ‘I have to get her to see this differently’. I think I am also making her desire to quit mean that somehow I have failed and perhaps the overthinking is an attempt to buffer and avoid the feeling of failure. Here are the models I’ve come up with.

C: Client wants to quit
T: I have to get her to see this differently.
F: Motivated
A: Spending a lot of time thinking about what I could say to her, I’m not present in other area of my life (eg thinking about this kept me awake last night, thinking about her during yoga)
R: ?

C: Client wants to quit
T: I failed
F: Terrible
A: Buffer by mentally rehearsing conversations where I get her to change her mind
R: She still wants to quit, I fail to be present with myself