Imagine standing in a doorway, with one room behind you and another waiting just beyond. You can sense that you cannot go back, yet you haven’t stepped fully forward.
This is the essence of what many experience during major life changes — a state psychotherapists call liminal space. The word comes from the Latin “limen,” meaning threshold, describing those profound moments when we exist between who we were and who we’re becoming.
These transitional periods touch everyone’s life. You might recognise this feeling during a career change when your old job title no longer defines you, or after a relationship ends but before you’ve rediscovered your single identity. Perhaps you’ve felt it during grief, when the world continues moving whilst you remain suspended in loss. These spaces often feel uncomfortable, even frightening, because they challenge our need for certainty and clear identity.
We understand these threshold moments as natural and necessary parts of human development. Rather than rushing clients through discomfort, my person-centred counselling approach creates a supportive environment where you can explore these transitions at your own pace. I believe that within uncertainty lies tremendous potential for growth, self-discovery, and authentic change.
What Are Liminal Spaces and Why Do They Matter in Therapy?
Liminal spaces represent those “in-between” moments when life feels suspended between chapters. They’re characterised by uncertainty, ambiguity, and often a sense of disorientation that can leave us feeling untethered from our usual sense of self. Think of waiting in a hospital corridor before receiving important news – time seems to slow down, normal rules don’t apply, and you exist in a state of heightened awareness mixed with anxiety.
These spaces manifest in countless ways throughout our lives. Physical liminal spaces include empty corridors late at night, departure lounges where travellers exist between destinations, or that strange quietness of early morning before the world awakens. More significantly for counselling, emotional and psychological liminal spaces occur during major life transitions: the period after losing a job but before finding a new career direction, the months following a divorce whilst learning to live alone, or the complex emotions during recovery from addiction when old coping mechanisms no longer serve but new ones haven’t yet solidified.
Why do these spaces matter so much in therapeutic work? They represent fertile ground for transformation, moments when our usual defences are lowered and we become more open to change. During liminal periods, the stories we tell ourselves about who we are become more flexible. Old patterns of thinking and behaving that once felt fixed suddenly seem questionable. This creates both opportunity and vulnerability – the chance to grow in new directions paired with the discomfort of not knowing who we’re becoming.
Research in developmental psychology shows that these transitional periods, whilst uncomfortable, often precede significant personal growth. They force us to question assumptions, develop resilience, and discover inner resources we didn’t know we possessed. Rather than viewing liminal spaces as problems to solve quickly, recognising them as natural parts of life’s rhythm allows us to approach them with curiosity rather than fear.
The Psychological Impact of Feeling “In-Between”
The psychological effects of existing in liminal space can feel overwhelming and contradictory. Many people report increased anxiety during these periods, as our minds struggle with the absence of familiar landmarks that usually guide our sense of identity and purpose. Sleep patterns often become disrupted, decision-making feels impossible, and everyday tasks can seem monumental when you’re questioning fundamental aspects of your life.
What makes liminal experiences particularly challenging is the way they can shake our core sense of self. When someone asks, “What do you do?” and your usual answer no longer fits, or when you wake up and the routines that once provided structure feel meaningless, identity confusion naturally follows. This isn’t a sign of weakness or failure – it’s a normal psychological response to major change. The brain, designed to create patterns and predict outcomes, struggles when familiar categories no longer apply.
Yet within this discomfort lies remarkable potential for growth and self-discovery. Many clients describe liminal periods as times when they felt most creative, when solutions to long-standing problems suddenly became clear, or when they experienced profound insights about their values and priorities. The temporary suspension of old ways of being creates space for new possibilities to emerge. It’s during these threshold moments that people often make their most significant breakthroughs in therapy.
The key difference lies in how we approach these experiences. When liminal spaces are met with support, understanding, and patience, they become catalysts for positive change. When faced alone or with pressure to “get over it quickly,” they can lead to anxiety disorders, depression, or rushed decisions that don’t serve our long-term well-being. This is where skilled therapeutic support becomes invaluable, helping people navigate uncertainty without becoming overwhelmed by it.
How Person-Centred Counselling Navigates These Liminal Spaces
Person-centred therapy offers a uniquely suited approach for supporting people through liminal experiences. The counselling relationship itself becomes a kind of liminal space – a place between your everyday life and the unknown future where exploration can happen without pressure or judgment. At Liminal Therapy, I seek to create this therapeutic environment through three core conditions that Carl Rogers identified as essential for healing and growth.
Unconditional positive regard means accepting you exactly as you are in this moment, including all the confusion, fear, or uncertainty you might be experiencing. We don’t need you to have answers or to change quickly. This acceptance provides a stable foundation when everything else feels unstable. Empathic understanding involves deeply listening to your unique experience of being in transition, reflecting back what we hear without trying to fix or interpret. This helps you feel truly understood during a time when you might not even understand yourself.
Congruence, or genuineness, means we bring our authentic selves to the therapeutic relationship whilst maintaining appropriate boundaries. We might share that uncertainty is normal, or acknowledge when something you’ve said moves us, creating a real human connection that counters the isolation many feel during transitions. This approach contrasts sharply with therapy models that focus on symptoms or problem-solving, instead trusting your innate wisdom to find your own way forward.
The person-centred approach particularly excels with liminal experiences because it doesn’t rush the process. We help clients develop what we might call “uncertainty tolerance” – the ability to sit with not knowing whilst remaining open to what wants to emerge. This might involve exploring dreams, noticing body sensations, or simply talking about what it feels like to be betwixt and between. Our flexible approach, offering both in-person counselling sessions in Cornwall and online support, ensures you can access this specialised help regardless of your circumstances or location.
Rather than seeing liminal space as a problem to escape from, we frame it as a natural and often necessary part of personal development. This reframing alone can reduce anxiety and help clients approach their transition with curiosity rather than dread.
Conclusion
Liminal spaces represent some of life’s most challenging yet potentially transformative periods. These threshold moments, characterised by uncertainty and the suspension of familiar identities, occur naturally throughout our lives during major transitions. Whilst they can feel frightening and disorienting, they also offer unparalleled opportunities for growth, self-discovery, and authentic change when approached with proper support and understanding.
Person-centred counselling provides an ideal framework for navigating these in-between periods. By creating a safe, accepting environment where uncertainty is welcomed rather than rushed, therapy becomes a supportive companion during life’s most significant transitions. At Liminal Therapy & Counselling, we specialise in helping people embrace these threshold moments, developing the resilience and self-awareness needed to emerge from transitions with greater authenticity and purpose.
Rather than viewing liminal spaces as obstacles to overcome, we can learn to see them as doorways to deeper self-knowledge and more fulfilling ways of living. With skilled support and patience with the process, these periods of not knowing can become some of the most meaningful chapters in our personal stories.
Common Questions:
What does “liminal” mean in the context of therapy?
Liminal describes the “in-between” state during transitions when you’re no longer who you were but haven’t yet become who you’re meant to be. In therapy, we understand these threshold moments as natural parts of personal development that, whilst uncomfortable, often lead to significant growth and positive change.
How can I tell if I’m in a “liminal space”?
Common signs include feeling uncertain about your identity or direction, experiencing anxiety about the future, feeling disconnected from previous routines or roles, and sensing that your old ways of coping aren’t working anymore. These feelings often accompany major life changes like relationship endings, career transitions, or periods of grief and loss.
Can counselling really help with feeling “stuck in-between”?
Absolutely. Counselling provides a safe, supportive environment where you can explore these uncertain feelings without judgment or pressure to change quickly. Through empathic listening and acceptance, therapy helps you develop tolerance for uncertainty whilst supporting your natural capacity for growth and self-discovery during transitions.
What kind of support does Liminal Therapy & Counselling offer for these transitions?
We specialise in person-centred therapy designed specifically for navigating life transitions and liminal experiences. Our approach offers flexible support through both in-person sessions in Cornwall and online counselling, with affordable rates and no long-term commitments. We create a compassionate, non-judgmental space where you can explore your transition at your own pace, developing resilience and clarity for moving forward authentically.
My goal is to collaborate and accompany clients on this journey through liminality towards lasting change, either from a place of emotional tension or simply a desire to become more self-aware, improve boundaries and live a more fulfilling life. If you are looking to make changes, get in touch for a free exploration to see if counselling might be an option.
