Quote:
Originally Posted by PeeJay
Is class, education level, or occupation, an issue for you in your therapy?
If so, how do you deal with it?
Do you see your therapist as above you or as a peer?
Are you intimidated by your therapist in any way?
When does socioeconomic status become a problem issue in therapy?
I'm asking because I know someone who is a hard-working, blue-collar guy and who is starting therapy but who resents and feels intimidated by anyone with a "fancy education," which pretty much means any four-year college degree. I am hoping it does not negatively affect the therapy, but then, I'm not sure how it wouldn't.
I'm hoping that there are therapists out there who can hang and be chill and maybe even dress a bit more casually. I don't think having a bunch of degrees hanging on one's wall would get the relationship off to a good start.
I am intimidated that my therapist has a big support network and a big loving family. So, maybe I deal with this too.
Please do weigh in!
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Education level has been a chip on my shoulder a long time. I was an excellent student but dropped out of high school due to family/mental health issues. I didn't earn my GED until I was in my 30s when I got it concurrently with my A.A.
However, my therapist has actually inspired me to complete my B.A., so I've taken something that made me uncomfortable and used it. She had a career change in her early 40s, and as a woman in my late 30s going for a degree and career change myself, it helps me feel..... a little less uncomfortable about it and appreciate that it's not too late for such a major change. She has her Master's too, and now I am ITCHING for one.... really want to find a way to earn it in the near future, but have to focus on the 12 months of my B.A. program I have left first and paying it off!
Socioeconomic status was a bit of a problem in therapy too. I paid for so many sessions, she thought I was upper middle class, but I'm definitely middle or lower middle, and so when I tried talking about the financial situation, it was... ugh, difficult, she didn't understand why I'd have to limit things after my initial period of overspending.
I was uncomfortable thinking she was used to a more elaborate lifestyle than me, hearing how much she'd traveled, and honestly... I felt better when I learned her car was like 20 years old and her house was worth not much more than mine.
I'd like to not care, but... I do. Money and status were issues and secrets for me growing up, so it's a process for me to feel comfortable with where I am financially and socially.