</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
alexandra_k said:
part of the respect that i have for psychoanalytic training programs is that the full program takes a number of years and one has to complete a course of analysis BEFORE one is allowed to complete the course and practice as an analyst.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">
That's how it was in the non-psychoanalytic training programs I cited above for counselors. It's very common in the U.S. to have this requirement. However, I don't know to what extent (or if at all) people are screened out of these non-analytical programs if they somehow manifest too great a mental illness in their own course of therapy. Interesting question.

Alex, I found your list of reasons why therapists become therapists really interesting. I think I saw my own T in that list in a few of those reasons. I've been fascinated by why divorce is a major counseling speciality of his (although he does other family therapy too). As I get to know him better, I'm putting a piece together here and there and find some overlap with the reasons on your list.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
some people go into therapy because they wish to act out their pathology

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">
Can you say more about this reason? Give an example? I'm not sure what that would look like. Like if someone suffers from depression, how would becoming a therapist be an acting out of that?