Rapunzel, just wanted to chip in… Please feel free to ignore if I’m off-topic or way out of line.

If they accept you on the doctoral programme, I think you should go for it. As I have recently been told, it is never too late to start something one really wants (though it *is* easier said than done…). It is scary to go beyond one’s comfort zone and jump in (e.g. here the doctoral prog.) but sometimes we need to push ourselves.

As for applying skills to help ourselves…. That’s a tough one… I find that, at least for some people, it is easier to care for & want to help others than ourselves for myriads of reasons. To answer your question, I think you *can* apply those skills to help yourself but maybe you don’t allow yourself to, or don’t feel you deserve to. I don’t know if this is the case at all for you but maybe something to ponder?

All in all, from what I read here, I think you would make a good therapist and that you could make a difference. I don’t see why people shouldn’t give you a chance. Please, keep trying.