Tessa's Escape to Athena's Ground Read Online Free PDF Page A

and let go of your past,
    To fully experience the present—the good and the bad—as we work toward...
    Your future, characterized by freedom, love, and peace.

    At the bottom of the cover sheet, a disclaimer read:

    Confidential and Binding:
    Athena’s Ground holds ALL of the information you provide in strict confidence. Please be assured the information you provide on the following Green Sheets will be kept in utmost privacy and shared ONLY with those who will be working directly with you.
    In order for Athena’s Ground therapy to be effective, it is vital that you complete these Green Sheets fully and honestly.
    Athena’s Ground agrees to hold this information confident.
    I _________________________ (sign here) agree to provide complete and honest answers.

    Tessa looked at the Confidential and Binding notice, and wondered if it was too late to slip out the front door. Instead, she slid her pen under the seal, broke it, and turned to the first Green Sheet.

-6-
    “It’s nice to meet you. My name is Carmen.”
    Tessa nodded but said nothing. Her face was pale and she entered the room with her arms folded across her chest, like a plate of armor.
    “This probably is a bit overwhelming,” Carmen said, smiling. “Please, sit down.” She gestured at two lushly upholstered chairs. A small round coffee table sat between the chairs, and a silver tray with tea and scones provided an invitation to relax.
    Tessa settled into a chair while Carmen poured two cups of tea. “Milk? Honey? Sugar?”
    “Honey, thank you.” Tessa didn’t think her stomach could handle a scone, but some warm tea with sweet honey might be soothing.
    After a few quiet sips, Carmen broke the silence.
    “You read our Description of Services and Therapeutic Mission?”
    It was the first page of the sealed green packet and Tessa had indeed read it. In fact, she’d almost grabbed her bag and run for the door. Only the thought of another trip, a final trip, to the ER stopped her from bolting.
    “Yes.”
    “What questions do you have?”
    Where to begin? Should she start alphabetically, with ‘Are you freaking kidding me?’ or cut right to the chase, with ‘Is sex therapy even legal?’ Tessa opted to cut to the chase.
    “Is what you do here legal?”
    Carmen sat her tea cup down and looked into Tessa’s eyes: direct, unwavering and serious. “Nearly all of our clients ask us this, so forgive me if my response seems a little practiced.” Carmen leaned back into the plush cushion of her lavender chair and began the story of Athena’s Ground. She told Tessa that it was established by two women whose lives were both very unlike each other’s and also, very much the same. Like Tessa, they had crushing emotional and sexual experiences and found traditional counseling less than effective. “Our founders were women of financial substance, and they used their resources to create a safe place for women to explore their emotional and sexual needs.”
    It sounded wonderful, to Tessa, but it didn’t answer the question, and she softly said as much to Carmen, who smiled in response.
    “You would be paying for talk therapy, some held in a clinical setting and some not. You would be paying for transportation, accommodations and miscellaneous costs, such as food and entertainment. You would be paying for the time our field therapists spend with you. No one, not you and not any Athena’s Ground client, ever pays for sexual activity per se. While we encourage sexual activity, we charge the client for the time spent, not the activity that occurs: if our client declines to participate in the sexual aspects of therapy, that has no effect on the costs incurred.”
    Carmen locked eyes with Tessa. “Let me be very clear. Our field therapists are not prostitutes. They offer their physical expertise and their emotional intelligence as part of a therapeutic plan to help our women overcome sexual issues. Clients are free to take advantage of it, or not.”