Posted by Meatwood_Flack on January 23, 2013, at 17:39:23
In reply to Re: I fired my therapist yesterday » Meatwood_Flack, posted by ChicagoKat on January 23, 2013, at 16:24:16
If I were in remission, degreed and licensed, I'd be happy to be your therapist. I'm still 45 semester hours shy of the degree, so there's still a lot I don't know. In defense of therapists, though, it's easy for me to sit on my couch and offer advice on the internets. Most therapists have 30+ clients per week, each with different personalities, different problems and different levels of commitment to working to solve those problems. That's a lot of pressure (especially when even the best therapists are unable to help everyone) and explains why burnout is so pervalent in the profession. I am friends with a therapist of over 10 years experience and, as much compassion as she has, she's been jaded by her experiences. A lot of clients in therapy are too dependent on the therapist to do their own work, a lot of clients don't really even want to be in therapy so they offer as little involvement as they can get by with. Earnest and well-meaning clients who do want to work to get better shouldn't pay for the sins of their less motivated counterparts, but -- human nature being what it is -- sometimes do. You sometimes see the same thing with policemen who have been on the job for a long time who have come to regard most people as untrustworthy because they've dealt with criminals for so long. Another hurdle therapists face is maintaining sufficient empathy while also keeping appropriate distance to allow them to leave work at work and not toss and turn in bed at night over the problems their clients are going through. Add to this the less than perfect batting average of even the best, and the frustration at not being able to help can be overwhelming. Over time, I imagine it's tempting to become emotionally vacant just to stay sane. But then, when things get to that point, a career change might seem to be in order, but that's a lot easier said than done, especially when you're talking about walking away from a degree for which you may be paying off student loans for the rest of your life. We inherited an imperfect world. Unfortunately, when you add depression or any other disability to the mix, it becomes even less perfect. It's truly a shame that any of us must bear the weight of these types of illnesses. And thank you for the compliment. Keep searching and you'll find a therapist you mesh with. Finding an effective med will make that process a lot easier. Meds can't do it all alone, and neither can talk therapy. Each one compliments the other.
poster:Meatwood_Flack
thread:1036199
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20130112/msgs/1036262.html