yesterday was my official last day working, and i took my holiday today. i just went in to pack up my office. a couple of clients loaded up my car for me.

it was bittersweet. i’m so excited to be moving on but the clients were quite kind to me. they all went around and shared “something nice stephanie did for us” when i sat in on the last group— entirely unprompted! it was really touching.

one client said he will miss the “sense of comfort” i gave him. another client mentioned how when we sat down to do his intake, he had come straight from jail and i got him a cup of coffee and a cigarette first and he really appreciated that. another client shared that i helped him with his anger. another talked about how i made him stay in group one day and he ended up glad he stayed because he really learned a lot. someone else said i had a lot of knowledge and expertise that i shared with them. and another was grateful i took the group to starbucks and bought them all a fancy coffee drink earlier this week. another one remembered how i still made sure he got to his zoom court hearing on time when he had graduated to outpatient. (he was a repeat customer from earlier this year.)