November 2024
How Daemion Helped Me...
From a client perspective
Over the years, I have coexisted in two different socio-economic worlds. I have spent my 25-year career as a modest teacher at elite private schools on the East Coast. Most recently, I worked and raised my two kids on Philadelphia’s beautiful “Main Line.” We are a modest two income family that is surrounded by the incredible wealth of many people around us.
Raising your kids in the shadows of such opulence is tricky. Inevitably, I had to teach them about “needs vs. wants.” I would remind them that, “some people can’t even afford everything they need… and others can get almost everything they need AND want.” I would always end with, “We are right in the middle…we have money for everything that we need and many of the things we want.” I realized in the Fall of 2023 that this old saying of mine was actually a lie. I always wanted to go to therapy but could never justify the cost.
In the Fall of 2023, I was introduced to Daemion Counseling Center due to employer mandated Anger Management Training. There is a lot more to the story, but I will say that I got thrown into an inescapable situation and had to fall on my sword. I was scheduled to meet with Laura, one of Daemion’s therapists, to begin the training however after our initial session, she determined I did not, in fact, need anger management skills, but she stated, “You obviously have a lot of emotions to work through…and I’m happy to help.” After one meeting with Laura, I realized that I was in desperate need of therapy, despite my inability to afford it.
The generous grant funded sessions gifted by Daemion Counseling Center gave me the opportunity to finally attend therapy on a regular basis. Laura and I met once every 2 weeks from November 2023 until June 2024. During that time, I went through a handful of significant life events: I began a new job search, began researching new schools and neighborhoods for my middle school age kids, eventually resigned from my job, sold one house, bought another, and relocated my entire family out of state. Phew. Even one of those things would have been too much for me to take on without the help of Laura.
Fast forward to Fall of 2024, I can say I am feeling emotionally grounded and clear on my own needs vs. wants. Thank God that the universe put me in that chair across from Laura in that little office because the emotional fallout that was on the horizon was invisible to me at the time.
If you’re wondering why you donate, I am one example of many. Each of us can have different reasons for giving back, but I am asking for your help today. Join me in helping our community.