Balancing Act: The Ups & Downs of Being a Therapist
So you’ve picked up your degree, passed your licensing exam, taken a deep breath, and plunged into your career as a therapist.
Congratulations!
If you’re having a mix of excitement and misgivings about how you will be spending the next few decades, you’re not alone!
The best things about being a therapist
Is the life of a therapist all rainbows and butterflies? Sorry, no. But I strongly believe that it is an excellent career choice. Here are the best things I experienced in my 25 year career as a clinical psychologist:
- An enduring sense of being truly helpful to my fellow humans
- Interesting work. (OK, boring on rare occasions, but what job isn’t? As they say, “Why do you think they call it ‘work’?”)
- Having an answer to the question “Why on earth did [INSERT NAME FROM NEWS STORY HERE] do that!” more often than the average person
- Working in a quiet, comfy office rather than a factory floor or a cube farm
- Job security. In the best of times and the worst of times, people need therapy
- A pretty decent income
- Respect from the community
- More independence than the average worker
- An opportunity to exercise empathy and connect with your fellow human beings much more often than most people get to experience
The worst things about being a therapist
On the other hand, despite the real advantages listed above, there were occasional drawbacks, some of which I hadn’t anticipated:
- Worrying if I had said the right thing, or given the right advice, or given ANY advice instead of letting them struggle with a decision themselves. I’d failed to realize that if there was an easy solution to a client’s problems, or a clear choice among their nerve-wracking options, they would have figured these issues out themselves.
- Worrying that a depressed client might act on their sadness before the next session.
- Discovering that at parties, upon learning of your profession, some people will nervously edge away from you.
- Conversely, discovering that others at parties corner you for the next hour, asking for you to agree that their spouse or boss or neighbor is mentally unstable.
- Not being able to say much about my day at the dinner table because of confidentiality concerns.
- Being uninterested in conversations at the end of a day of back to back sessions, causing your spouse to wonder why you are being so quiet.
- Having to abandon all social media posts for (realistic) fears that your clients will see your photos and judge you harshly.
- Being told “I don’t need a therapist, I need a spouse!” when you try to give helpful interpersonal advice.
- Wincing at the depiction of therapists and mental illnesses in most films.
- Tons of paperwork. Followed by more paperwork.
- Realizing that insurance companies are far more interested in profits than in the welfare of their customers.
- Easily recognizing sociopathy and narcissism in politicians, and wondering helplessly why others can’t see it.
So, what is the final score?
Still, the good far outweighs the bad, as I mentioned earlier. Yours is a noble profession. Thank you for your service!
Did I miss any advantages or disadvantages in my lists above? If so, please leave a comment and let me know.
