I voted "other."

I want all professionals to care about me professionally, personally, and individually. Of course, I don't expect my mail carrier to care in the same way as my therapist - I suppose by professionals, I mean someone who is charged with providing a service.

I have the expectation that someone I pay to provide a service to should care about me professionally, personally, and individual. A therapist should care about their client. Professionally, they have a duty to me. As a person, they should have a desire to help me and such desire would indicate that they do care. And, I want to be treated as an individual and not as a diagnosis code. The same is true for my primary care doctor or other treatment providers. If they are unable to care for me in that manner, I feel it is their responsibility to step away and refer to someone who can. My expectation is in line with the service the professional provides and I do not feel it's unrealistic to have such an expectation - especially if I am paying an individual.

My career is one where I provide a service to others. I would be ineffective at best if I did not care for the people I worked with on a professional, personal, and individual level. I certainly have stronger feelings for some than others, but that should not impact the service I provide. It is true that I go above and beyond for some, but that is because they are receptive to such treatment. For others, they don't want me to do so - even if they verbally say otherwise. However, that does not mean that I don't care for them or provide the best service to them that I can. When I realize that I cannot, it doesn't mean that I don't care, but rather that I need to offer the individual another solution. And, in the event that I don't care as I feel I should (I am human, of course), I ensure that I refer the person to someone who is better equipped to work with them.

I would say that, despite my expectation and personal experiences, I do still worry that professionals do not care for me. But, that is more in line with the treatment they provide than with an innate desire to have them care for me. It is different with my treatment team and the medical profession, but I try to be realistic in my expectations. However, if someone is in a service profession, it should be because they care and not because there is a dollar sign looming over their head.