[SarahSweden]

My T has told me she has been feeling down (perhaps it was depression but she didn´t use that word) and she has also had struggles with not having any kids and I got to know there were several reasons for that. She has described both her father and mother has illnessess, not mental though but still, and I just presume she worries about them from time to time. She has also told me she has gone to some sessions of shorter therapy after she began practising as a T.

Has your T told you if she/he has any mental issues and how he/she dealt or deals with that?

[Ellahmae]

Yes she's told me about hers, her kids, her parents, her siblings, her spouses family, etc. She also tells me that sometime she doesn't handle it and how she does handle it, etc. She's been in therapy as well.

My T had something happen about 8 years ago (I know what it is, but I'm not going to post that here) and got depressed as a result. She got through it. She sometimes draws from her own experience, but I don't find that very helpful, as the way she got through the depression isn't available to me.

[junkDNA]

my T has had a few tragic losses of close family members. he told me he has bipolar disorder. he also told me he thinks he has aspergers

None of mine have that I've been aware of. My most recent T deals with ADHD, but I don't particularly consider that a mental health issue having dealt with it with my own son. Certainly something that can be managed well.

My first T admitted he had never dealt with depression until his own son passed away, but it was something he worked through and moved beyond as a grieving process.

[divine1966]

No not really. We have similar personalities. Kind of survivors/fighters/immigrants. Kind of get knocked down and get up right away and keep fighting. We both have adult kids who live far away and it makes it tough to see them often enough . That a little bit of a downer but we deal with it similarly. If you can't change it, you just accept it and make the best of it.

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[ilikecats]

My T doesn't have any that I know of. She has joked a couple of times about having ADHD though. But I'm not sure if she was being serious and really has it or if she was just saying that because of some of her behaviors.

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[atisketatasket]

I know at least two have seen therapists and said that they have suffered too - I did not ask why. The third has alluded to being a victim of something, didn't ask.

I am happier knowing that they have experienced the mental health system as a client/patient. Beyond that, I don't want to know details.

[stopdog]

They have both gone through therapy but I don't know what for.
And I believe one would not want to be a therapist without some sort of mental issue going on.

[LonesomeTonight]

I don't think my T does. My marriage counselor has social and generalized anxiety issues that he's mentioned before (which is part of why I feel so understood by him, because I do, too). I suspect he's dealt with depression in the past, too, because of some stuff he's said.

[scorpiosis37]

My ex-T told me she had an eating disorder and some other minor stuff. She now has a serious health issue and no longer practices. Now, she goes to her own T every week and I don't have a T. It feels a little upside down, but that's the way it is now.

[velcro003]

My T struggled with an ED for about 10 years, and I think she still sees a T to this day.

[peaches100]

I don't think my t has any mental health issues. From the little bit she has told me, it sounds like she also had a loving family growing up. But she has gone to therapy. She said to be a good t, they have to go to therapy as well. I don't know if she goes to therapy now or not...maybe occasional consultation or something.

[Out There]

I don't know , he's had therapy himself I believe , all the T's I've seen have or have had.

[clueda]

I have no idea!

All I know is that she has had her own therapy. It is a requirement for getting qualified as a psychotherapist here. So I assume she has worked through her "stuff"...

My first T had a dissociative disorder and lots of other mental health issues that he (inappropriately in my view) told me about. He also told me about the mental health of his son.
I can't imagine current T has had any major mental health issues, but really I have no idea because he'd never tell me, and that's the way I like it.

[laxer12]

I'm not sure...I know she has her own T because she has told me twice. She just said that there is stuff she can't really talk to her husband about so it is helpful for her to talk to a T too.

I'd like to ask her why she became a T. Maybe it was because she went to T first for a mental health issue/challenge and decided it would be a good career for her.

I know my t has been grouch some really traumatic stuff in her past. She has mentioned people close to her having a personality disorder, she had suffered with depression her whole life, she has been through a lot of therapy and emotional turmoil. She didn't tell me a lot of what had happened, I read about something in the news paper once and my friend who is her friend told me other things. T has always been honest about her struggles though.

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[SarahSweden]

A lot of T:s seem to have some mental issues, now or in the past, and I´m rather convinced many of them (not meaning just those mentioned here) choose the field of psychology much because they had mental issues themselves. Just wishing the T:s are stable enough to deal with clients but I think most of them are.

[LonesomeTonight]

Originally Posted by SarahSweden

A lot of T:s seem to have some mental issues, now or in the past, and I´m rather convinced many of them (not meaning just those mentioned here) choose the field of psychology much because they had mental issues themselves. Just wishing the T:s are stable enough to deal with clients but I think most of them are.

I feel like that makes them more empathetic and able to understand their clients if they've also been there. But agreed that they need to have worked through their own issues and be stable enough to deal with clients and their issues. I know my marriage counselor has been through quite a bit of therapy, as he's talked about it on occasion. Though he has said that he wouldn't be able to work with clients who remind him of his dad (who I think may have been an alcoholic, from some stuff he's said). Still, that shows some self-awareness, I think.

[annielovesbacon]

My old T was a really blank slate, she never talked about herself so really I have no idea. I'd imagine most T's have or do go to their own therapy, either for their own issues or just as a form of self-care from the stress of the job. My old T was a student so I'm pretty sure it was a requirement for her.

[cheshiregrins]

No idea, my shrink doesn't talk about himself.

I know that she has had trauma from a past experience and that she also has issues currently with someine in her life that I can see some type of trauma from.

I never thought about this. I could ask my therapist if he has any mental health issues, but I've never bothered. I know he once told me he was depressed, but when he spoke about it, his depression didn't seem bad at all. He said he was depressed when his girlfriend broke up with him because he thought she was "the one". He apparently got over it in a week.

[LonesomeTonight]

Originally Posted by bluebicycle

I never thought about this. I could ask my therapist if he has any mental health issues, but I've never bothered. I know he once told me he was depressed, but when he spoke about it, his depression didn't seem bad at all. He said he was depressed when his girlfriend broke up with him because he thought she was "the one". He apparently got over it in a week.

Yeah, that just sounds like normal sadness rather than depression. Maybe he was trying to empathize?