Relational Field Therapy
The RFT Client Journey
From Collapse to Clarity
The RFT client journey is not a linear path or a set of coping skills.
It is a movement across scales — from carrying the wound alone to locating it accurately, returning it to the field, and reclaiming the self that was buried under misattribution.
This chapter traces that journey with precision, honoring the lived experience of people who have spent years believing they were the wound when they were actually the signal.
1. The Collapse
When the wound enters the body
The journey begins long before the client enters therapy.
It begins at the moment a communal wound is misassigned to them — often in childhood, adolescence, or early adulthood.
This collapse looks like:
- sudden shame
- confusion
- self‑doubt
- identity distortion
- feeling “too much” or “not enough”
- sensing something is wrong but being told it’s them
This is not personal failure.
It is the moment the field’s rupture lands in one body.
Hashtags: #CollapsePoint #MisassignedWound #FieldImpact
2. The Void
The existential freefall created by scale error
When the wound is too large for one person to metabolize, the psyche falls into a void.
Clients describe:
- bottomlessness
- meaninglessness
- “I don’t know who I am”
- “I can’t tell what’s real”
- “Everything feels too big”
This is not pathology.
It is the nervous system trying to resolve a wound that belongs to the field.
Hashtags: #ExistentialVoid #ScaleMismatch #NotYourFault
3. The Search for Help
Trying to heal a wound that isn’t personal
Clients often spend years in:
- therapy
- self‑help
- spiritual work
- resilience training
- emotional regulation
- perfectionism
- self‑fixing
But nothing works because the wound is not inside them.
They are trying to heal a misattributed rupture.
Hashtags: #MisdiagnosedPain #TherapyLimitations #SearchingForScale
4. The First RFT Session
The moment the lights turn on
The turning point is not insight — it’s recognition.
The therapist says:
“This wound didn’t start with you.”
“This shame isn’t yours.”
“This is a field‑level rupture.”
Clients often cry, shake, or go silent.
Not from pain — from relief.
For the first time, the story fits the scale.
Hashtags: #RecognitionMoment #FieldDiagnosis #ReliefThroughTruth
5. The Scale Correction
Reassigning the wound to its rightful origin
This is the core of the journey.
The therapist helps the client:
- locate the rupture
- identify the misattribution
- understand the cultural script
- see the systemic failure
- recognize the scapegoating pattern
The wound begins to move out of the body and back into the field.
Hashtags: #ScaleCorrection #WoundReassignment #StructuralClarity
6. The Shame Release
Letting go of what was never theirs
Once the wound is correctly located, shame loses its anchor.
Clients say:
“I feel lighter.”
“I can breathe again.”
“It wasn’t me.”
“I was never broken.”
This is not affirmation.
It is accuracy.
Hashtags: #ShameRelease #TruthHeals #NotYourBurden
7. The Boundary Reconstruction
Learning to refuse misattribution in real time
Clients begin practicing the Wound‑Boundary Protocol:
- “Is this mine?”
- “Where did this originate?”
- “What is being pushed onto me?”
- “I don’t carry unspoken wounds.”
This is where collapse stops repeating.
Hashtags: #BoundaryRebuild #WoundBoundaryProtocol #EmotionalSovereignty
8. The Identity Reclamation
Recovering the self that existed before the wound
With the misattribution gone, clients reconnect with:
- intuition
- creativity
- relational clarity
- agency
- their original frequency
They rediscover the self that was buried under the field’s rupture.
Hashtags: #IdentityReclaimed #TrueSelfEmerges #PostTraumaClarity
9. The Field Integration
Re‑entering the world without reenactment
Clients learn how to:
- navigate relationships without absorbing wounds
- avoid scapegoat roles
- maintain scale accuracy
- protect their sensitivity
- participate in communal repair
This is where healing becomes generative.
Hashtags: #FieldIntegration #LivingAligned #RelationalRepair
10. The New Baseline
Life after misattribution
The client no longer:
- collapses inward
- assumes blame
- confuses sensitivity with flaw
- carries communal wounds
- loses themselves in rupture
They live with:
- clarity
- coherence
- boundaries
- agency
- truth
This is not recovery.
It is liberation.
Hashtags: #NewBaseline #LiberationThroughClarity #FieldLiterateLiving
Survivor Literacy 
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