I have been thinking a lot lately about what it takes to work as a therapist. From where I stand, it seems to be an incredibly difficult "job". There have been a lot of mentions in different threads here about bad, ok, good vs great therapists. I remember wondering once how a difficult session affects a therapist. Do they take it home or are they able to leave it in their office? I know I wouldn't be able to leave it there and I would think about my clients a lot. I know I would get caught up in their stories and in my desire to help them. I asked my T once how she can deal with it and she said that that is the nature of the job. It sounded really strange. On one hand, it felt as if she was professional and able to handle the difficulties that come with working with clients. On the other hand, it sounded really detached. I almost felt like she didn't care enough. On one hand, I was relieved to hear that she can detach from what is happening in her office. On the other hand, I felt sad because in her eyes I was just her job.

This all started me thinking - is being a therapist really just a job or is it a calling? I feel being a therapist carries a great amount of responsibility - a lot more so than many other professions. From my own experience and from reading other people's experiences here on PC, I can see that therapists can have profound impact on their clients both positive and negative. It seems to me that to be a great therapist, you need to be devoted to helping your clients and from everything I read, that probably comes with making a lot of personal sacrifices. To be willing to make those, I feel you would have to look at being a therapist as your calling, rather than your job.

I am curious about what others think.