You can add me to the list of people who have been in therapy and are going into the field. I've been in therapy for years - 3 years currently, and at least 7 other therapists before off and on since I was 19. Sometimes I wonder if I'll make it, but I don't feel nearly as limited as I used to. I always wanted to be a psychologist, and thought there was no chance of that until I had a particularly bad depressive episode, and then found a book by a psychologist who became severely depressed and didn't respond to therapy and medication, and had to have ECT. She was still able to work, and to help others. The book is "Undercurrents: A Life Beneath the Surface" by Martha Manning.

My T used to be mentally ill also. I knew that she really struggled, but she recently told me that she had been in a state hospital, was almost involuntarily committed, and went through 21 different therapists before finally recovering. She's the best that I've found. I don't think most of the others really understood, and if they did, I don't think they thought I could do any better. This one pushes me hard because she has high expectations.