Voicelessness and Emotional Survival--Becoming a Therapist

Many students from around the world have e-mailed me about becoming a therapist. "What do I need to learn?" they ask. One of the most important tasks of "insight" therapists is to understand and appreciate subtext. What is subtext? It is between-the-lines communication that convey powerful messages indirectly. Subtext affects all relationships, and is especially critical in child-rearing. Do you have an aptitude for subtext? Does the concept interest you? Here's a simple exercise.

Consider the well-known and beloved Robert Frost poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening":

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

(from Immortal Poems of the English Language, Washington Square Press, 1969)
Page 2