[CantExplain]

What do therapists care about?

This is a question that we often touch but seldom face head on.

[rainbow8]

Mine cares about me! She feels frustrated when she can't help me. She wants me to get well. So I guess she cares about her job, which is to help people.

[SalingerEsme]

Mine cares about professional ethics, boundaries, theoretical orientation, and about his family. I am less sure if he cares about me as an individual.

[stopdog]

The woman seemed to like her dog

[weaverbeaver]

Mine cares about her work, she doesn’t get it right very often but she cares most of the time.

[Echos Myron redux]

Their families evidently.

Mine cares about a lot of things, including me. she has a very big heart.

[rainbow8]

Well, of course my T cares about her family and her friends.

[Amyjay]

Pretty typical life stuff I imagine... family, friends, religion, hobbies, their work, financial security, having meaning and purpose in life, being useful, being competent, relaxation, being of value, being of service, vacations, pets, significant family events, et cetera...

[kaleidoscopeheart]

My T cares about me in a professional sense. He wants me to be happy, he wants me to improve my life, and he wants me to push myself out of my comfort zone. We both understand that he is not my friend and that he is a professional offering a service. That does not mean he doesn't care though. He celebrates my successes with me, he's proud when I make progress, he worries about me when I am struggling, and the biggest way he shows he cares is by being consistent with me. I can be stubborn and frustrating and anxious and frantic and just overwhelmed in general and I know that, regardless of what I'm dealing with, he will be there in his chair giving support or encouragement or just telling me to knock that **** off when I need it.

She cares about being right.

[WarmFuzzySocks]

CE, I was just thinking about how much I like your open-ended questions.

I imagine that in their personal lives, t's care about the same stuff most people care about.

Professionally, they probably also care about the same stuff. Job satisfaction, paying the bills, promotion, office politics. I believe that most of them care about making a difference in the lives of their clients; otherwise, they wouldn't have gone into a helping profession.

I think therapists are just as diverse as people in other professions. Work-wise, I would want them to care about working responsibly but it's clearly not the case with all of them. One of mine seemed to care mostly about imposing his dogmas and projections. Also social media and having a lot of internet presence, and moderating it to get rid of unfavorable feedback. The other did care about being professional and ethical, also about money and trying to attract high-achieving professionals as his clients.

I do believe most Ts care about trying to help clients but not all make efforts to achieve it. I think many also care about trying to transmit an image that they are particularly self-aware, know more about human nature than most (including other Ts) and can lead clients to new and unique solutions.

[koru_kiwi]

Originally Posted by CantExplain

What do therapists care about?

This is a question that we often touch but seldom face head on.

i'm up to the challenge and will take your question head on...

my ex-T cares about himself...plain and simple. everything else he cares about is secondary to fulfilling him and his needs in one way or another. all of us do this to some regard...though some present more on the extreme end of that spectrum or are willing to honestly admit to it.

[nottrustin]

T cared about her family as she should but she also cared greatly for her clients. At her memorial service her significant other spoke about how much she loved her clients and her work with them. Apparently she had been telling she would retire soon but when the time was right. The time was never right and one of the things he loved about her was that she cared for so many people from her family, friends and clients. He is a retired college professor so was looking forward to her someday retiring.

[Calla lily12]

I'm sure the answer to that question is as individual as T's themselves. Some care only for themselves, some care for money, power, being right. Then there are some who truly care for their clients. It shows when that's the case.

They care about the same things you or I care about. They're human after all.....

My therapist puts her family before anything in the world, which contributed to my feeling so lonely around her.

[maybeblue]

I think my therapist takes her job very seriously. I'm not sure she could do that if she didn't actually care about her clients. I doubt she spends nearly as much time thinking about me as I do her, but I do think she cares. I don't ask many personal questions, but I can't imagine that she would be less caring with her family than she is with me.

[junkDNA]

I think my T cares about helping people and being authentic

I also think my T cares about his ego as a therapist and "healer".I wouldn't dare say that to him tho. it's just something I've noticed from side comments he has made... disguised as jokes

but I know for sure my T cares about his family and children the most.

[Fuzzybear]

He cares about labelling people and seeming to be “right” to other “professionals”

He doesn’t care about fuzzy bears..

[msrobot]

Money. Her own image.

[BudFox]

In the context of therapy, i think they care about feeding their need to be needed, and about generating income.

[RaineD]

I'm sure mine cares about all the normal things other people care about. He also cares a lot about being a good therapist. He has some political views he seems unable to keep to himself. And I do think he cares about me.