[emmaleemochizuki]

My T never really shared much of anything about herself, and she still hasn't.

But in the last few months she's shared a bit about her training becoming a therapist as she knows I'm going through that process at the moment.

She said things like everyone who studies and works in this field, consciously or unconsciously all have certain things in their life they struggled with, and they chose this field because they also wanted to work on themselves. And she's right, a lot of my peers have had their share of struggle, and my interest in this subject did at first arise from wanting to know more about what is going on with me.

Anyway it makes me wonder what it is that she's been through that led her to become a professional in this field. She always said that 'you can only take a patient as far as you have gone within yourself', and she said that she was required to have three times weekly therapy for years as part of her training requirement.

I know it's not my business to ask or know but I do wonder what it is that she's gone through.

[ArtleyWilkins]

I haven't found it to be universally true that "all have certain things in their life" and they entered the profession to "work on themselves." I mean, yes, everyone has been through something, but my three therapists had very different reasons for going into the profession, not all related to their own personal issues but instead often related to offshoots of their previous field that led them toward the profession. For instance, two of my three therapists were quite established in other professions and encountered a need for therapy for their clientele in that previous field, but they weren't trained or credentialed to provide that service. They pursued therapy as a profession because they believed they could help fill that need by furthering and adding to their own education and skills: they never fully left their first field - just added to them. I wouldn't necessarily expect a therapist to divulge their personal history, but you can certainly ask why they went into the profession.

[*Beth*]

It is definitely okay to ask her what led to her decision to become a psychotherapist. You've hired her, you have the right to know some of her background and motivations.

I've asked my therapist, and she told me.

[nottrustin]

I have asked both of my Ts.

Ling term T said that growing up and in college she was always the person who friends went to when they were having problems. She decided to make a career out of it. She didn't go beyond hat, however, I know she attended her own counseling as a very young adult. . Right out of high school and divorced quickly. She was devistated ans attended college. The the time she was majoring in the art.

Current T saw the need for it and considered the field in high school but was not sure. She attended college and received a degree in anthropology. She still considered the field but still wasnt sure. So she took a couple of years off and worker at two different summer outdoor adventure camps as a counselor. After that she relized she couldnt imagine doing anything else.

[Omers]

With most of my T’s I didn’t care, didn’t ask and they didn’t offer. Admittedly I have not asked current T nor has he offered. He has shared enough about himself that I can sort of put the pieces together... perhaps not perfectly but enough to get an idea.
I do know my T has been in his own therapy at different points in his life. I know that some of the things he does with me are because his T did them with him and he found them helpful. I know that the vast majority of things he asks me to do he tries to do himself. He doesn’t always do “his homework” either so has sympathy when I just can’t. I know what he did before he went to school to be a T and some of why he was motivated to change careers at that time. I know that there is some overlap in our struggles but they aren’t the same. I know we have both had struggles that the other didn’t.
It works for me.

[SlumberKitty]

My T said something about not being able to fix her family of origin but wanting to help other families fix theirs. She's an MFT. I may not have said what she said word for word but that was the gist of it. I know she has done her own therapy and I know she has had a lot of other jobs before landing on being a therapist. She even worked at Disneyland!

[nottrustin]

Do others have Ts with similar issues that they have shared or you were able to figure out?

Long term T said she never deal with trauma at least to her knowledge. However, she occasionally would say things about her mom that led me to believe she was verbally abusive and distant. She had an amazing dad but he died young. In the last few years T tried to make an effort to connect with her mom but her mom refused.

My dad abandoned me as a young teen but I also had trauma. My mom and I had a wonderful relationship but she died very young.

Current T attended counseling in college but has never said why. She has a close loving relationship with both her parents although her dad has had a drinking problem for many years.

I figured out on our second appointment she struggles from a lot of anxiety. Shr has never said it but it is quite obvious.

[ScarletPimpernel]

That's L and my question for today's therapy. We typically ask questions to each other at the start of session and sometimes the end. We jabe a box of questions that we often pull from. So our question today is why did we choose our career path. I'm excited. We been together for a year and a half and we still don't know each other's answer.

[ScarletPimpernel]

Answer: because she witnessed it having a positive effect on people in her life. There's more detail, but that's between her and me. However, it has nothing to do with her experiencing trauma or having a diagnosis herself.

[Rive.]

Of course.

That is a basic question.

I would not be able to trust a T who refused to answer such an ordinary question.

[stopdog]

It is a job that is indoors, no lifting, little math, you don't have to be very smart and there is no accountability= I know why the woman became a therapist.

[atisketatasket]

I’ve asked that question of all my therapists but one.

The common answer, which correlated with mediocrity as a therapist in my view, was that “people seemed to like bringing their problems to me.”

The less common answers were intellectual attraction to the field and experience as a patient themselves. The one who combined those two was probably the most helpful therapist for me.

[*Beth*]

Originally Posted by nottrustin

Do others have Ts with similar issues that they have shared or you were able to figure out?

Long term T said she never deal with trauma at least to her knowledge. However, she occasionally would say things about her mom that led me to believe she was verbally abusive and distant. She had an amazing dad but he died young. In the last few years T tried to make an effort to connect with her mom but her mom refused.

My dad abandoned me as a young teen but I also had trauma. My mom and I had a wonderful relationship but she died very young.

Current T attended counseling in college but has never said why. She has a close loving relationship with both her parents although her dad has had a drinking problem for many years.

I figured out on our second appointment she struggles from a lot of anxiety. Shr has never said it but it is quite obvious.

Good question. My T mentioned early on that her daughter has bipolar disorder (I have BD).

Yes, she and I have talked about it several times.