It was very windy, cold and raining outside.  And I was out of the house for most of the day And one of my neighbours had a visitor who brought a very large and noisy dog with him.

So my elderly cat got himself a nice, warm, dark and safe place in the sideboard.

It took me a long time to find him when I got back home!

But eventually he did come out, coaxed with some love and cuddles and yummy food and treats.

But it all got me thinking about the times when I might need my own bit of space “in the sideboard”.

There are times when life events or simply big challenges in the daily routine seem almost to conspire against us at every turn.  And we need some time apart.

We need to find that warm place of safety and protection in order to recover; to gather ourselves together again; to refresh and renew our spirit; or simply just to hide away for awhile until the storm has passed.

As a client, that temporary place of safety might be the therapy room.  So what’s in that room is important.  The layout, the furnishings, the setting etc.

As a therapist, we each need to have our own place of safety.  Our home & family; a special chair in a room; a cafe for a quiet cup of coffee; a phone call with a special friend.

At the same time as the cold, windy, rainy day with a noisy dog around, my daughter brought me her kitten to look after while she went on holiday with family.

So perhaps my cat had another reason to hide away as well!

The kitten hid under the bed....

What’s your special sideboard place?