[CantExplain]

I have to admit it looks pretty cushy.
It's indoor work, sitting down, with flexible hours and good pay.
Your revenue depends not so much on curing your patients, but in keeping them coming back.
There is no external quality revue. If you do a bad job, even the patient might not know it.

Now working with depressives is not a lot of fun, but if you've got good boundaries, you should be able to cope.

So: is therapy an easy job?

Right now I think it is.

[stopdog]

Compared to what? And in what way?

Physically - probably easier than road crew worker or coal miner or ditch digger or an olympic rower. But if you are an active person - harder to sit there and not move much.

Mentally - it is certainly not rocket science and there are not strings of things to memorize or anything really that must be done. But they do have to keep their own boundaries and are not supposed to interfere with what others do even when they have to watch them do something the therapist would not choose. They don't get to really do anything. They have to appear interested - that can get exhausting.

Emotionally - I say it is easy. The problems they see are not theirs to fix. All they have to do is stay back. They blame and label clients even when it is their own mistake and when pressed they call it an art so no one can pin them down on anything.

Personality - being a therapist is never a job I thought sounded fun or interesting - so it would not be an easy job for me.
If one is voyeuristic, likes to play around with people's emotions and affections, and finds the never ending description and depth of human suffering a playground - then probably easy.
And so forth.

[sconnie892]

Sometimes I think it is - especially for t's who only work 4 days a week and set their own hours.

But then I think how mentally taxing it must be. A good therapist has to be "on" the entire time they are with a client - listening to what is being said, what is not being said, and taking in all the non-verbal cues. They have to determine if the client is being honest or not. And they have to constantly be aware of their own reactions to the client. I would be exhausted after one appointment.

[Syra]

My observation is that it is a pretty interesting, growthful job, but it's also risky. And while most sessions are probably enjoyable and "easy" as jobs go, it's sort of like war - hours of peace interrupted by minutes of sheer terror. Therapists are vulnerable to demands being made on their time, and maintaining those boundaries when someone is suicidal isn't that easy, and sometimes unethical. I've watched my therapist, and decided I wouldn't want to be a therapist. Too many things can go way too wrong. There are demands on time to meet client emergencies. It's hard to take a vacation because there's always someone who is urgent and you wouldn't want to hand over to someone else.

And the clients who keep spinning their wheels and are stuck and seem to enjoy being stuck would drive me crazy - which would make me a lousy therapist.

In addition the insurance companies impinge way too much on the practice, and yet it's hard to make a sustainable living without insurance.

My T gets worn out from our sessions. They are mentally and physically taxing for her.
My husband is a t and he says its a hard job, especially with clients that dont want to do the work.

[Nightlight]

I imagine it depends on the therapist and their attitude. I imagine for many of them, each day is a mix between the easy and the difficult stuff.

[CantExplain]

Originally Posted by Syra

It's hard to take a vacation because there's always someone who is urgent and you wouldn't want to hand over to someone else.

My T takes very generous vacations.

[karebear1]

I'd say no, it's not an easy job. Too many emotions and real life drama to have to keep up on. Even if it's not yours, You're still involved in it if you're a T. You know when therapists tear up or get angry that they are feeling those things as well. Plus- the pay isn't actually all that great by hte time you take out for office rent etc. and if the T isn't in the network of your insurance but will still see you anyway, they hardly make a thing. I know my T is in it because she loves people, not because she is making a million.

[ECHOES]

Judging by the one patient of T's that I know, I think it sounds exhausting!!

[elliemay]

Any job is easy if you like doing it and get satisfaction from it. On a relative scale, it's probably not as physically taxing as some jobs. mentally might be another story.

[stopdog]

That one I see was a baker before therapist (or possibly while training for therapist) and she has said she likes therapisting better. I would think in some ways therapist is easier than baker - the hours are not as early and it is not as physical. But bakers do get to beat dough and eggs and most of the time those therapists are not supposed to beat (at least not obviously and constantly) clients.

My t used to be a railroad engineer before she went into 'therapisting'. (SD I like that word!!)

[feralkittymom]

Not if it's done right.

[sittingatwatersedge]

Originally Posted by CantExplain

Your revenue depends not so much on curing your patients, but in keeping them coming back.

just wanted to make an observation... not a lot of referrals coming out of that attitude.

[sittingatwatersedge]

Originally Posted by stopdog

Emotionally - I say it is easy. The problems they see are not theirs to fix. All they have to do is stay back.

this completely dismisses the idea of the enlightened witness, the compassionate guide. Without which - IMO - therapy will not work.

[sittingatwatersedge]

Originally Posted by karebear1

I know my T is in it because she loves people, not because she is making a million.

same here.

[critterlady]

I was just wondering today how therapists do it. Bearing witness to so much pain and being expected to say the right things in response to it must take a toll.

[Ike McCaslin]

You couldn't pay me to be a therapist, or a school teacher?

[stopdog]

Originally Posted by sittingatwatersedge

this completely dismisses the idea of the enlightened witness, the compassionate guide. Without which - IMO - therapy will not work.

I don't believe most therapists are enlightened and I don't experience them as compassionate. I usually do not mind Alice Miller ( one of the ones I have read who talks about enlightened witnesses).
But actually, this idea is not solely mine. Any number of them write about staying out of the client's way as being a large part of the job.

[skysblue]

I'd think that if a therapist wants to be effective and do a good job, it could be very difficult and taxing. AND, if they're working with clients who have severe mental illness, it could be especially difficult.

But, I wonder if it's also possible for them to choose to put on cruise control sometimes. Maybe an easy client (like me) who doesn't make many demands (like me) who doesn't have serious issues (like me), then they can coast a bit.

[carsan60612]

Even just starting out as a therapist is hard work. You have to have a certain number of logged hours, supervised hours, tests to take, etc. So by the time one has all of the qualifications, they have to be pretty sure that they want to be a therapist.

The job itself has to be pretty stressful, even though they're supposed to leave everything at the office. There's a lot of remember - I wonder how my t does it! - and each patient has a different personality and needs. Notes are required and the t pretty much has to be one step ahead during each session. Therapists surely don't get paid enough for what they do; especially those who are paid by face-to-face client hours and they cancel.

[stopdog]

Originally Posted by carsan60612

Even just starting out as a therapist is hard work. You have to have a certain number of logged hours, supervised hours, tests to take, etc. So by the time one has all of the qualifications, they have to be pretty sure that they want to be a therapist.

The job itself has to be pretty stressful, even though they're supposed to leave everything at the office. There's a lot of remember - I wonder how my t does it! - and each patient has a different personality and needs. Notes are required and the t pretty much has to be one step ahead during each session. Therapists surely don't get paid enough for what they do; especially those who are paid by face-to-face client hours and they cancel.

That is not different from any other self employed professional.

[CantExplain]

I'm assuming it is easy to get away with being a bad T. But maybe I'm wrong.

not if you have a lot of clients like me. i feel like a pita in therapy