Further Advice to a Young Therapist

[gaudior]

A few years ago, I wrote an entry called Advice to a Young Therapist. I've learned some things since then, so it seemed like a good time for another one

Comments

[nightengalesknd]

These are quite relevant and thought-provoking for what I do, which has a rather alarming overlap with what therapists do without any actual training in therapy.

[plasticsturgeon]

1) Mmmmmmaybe. I've actually had the opposite experience a lot (as a patient), although it was less about the therapist being a paragon of perfection than about the rules and conditions of therapy being different from the rules and conditions of normal interaction. Weirdly, therapy was the only place I felt normal. I got to sit down in a comfortable chair in a dim quiet room with just one other person in it, and that person didn't expect me to produce anything or do small talk or read her mind, I could just talk about whatever I wanted to and I didn't have to worry that I was talking about myself too much or that anyone was going to start disapproving of me or screaming at me. The rest of life felt like running through a hailstorm in the middle of traffic. I didn't have any extraordinary feeling of joy or relief while I was there but the contrast was immediately and painfully noticeable whenever I left.

I think that was only possible through the magic of knowing as little as possible about the therapist, though. And the magic of

[rachelmanija]

Thanks, I like that.

I wonder a bit about # 1, just because it doesn't mesh with my experience as a client. The therapist-client relationship is very different from other relationships.

[nightangelca]

Thanks for sharing this -- a thought-provoking and relevant read even for someone not in that field.