@Coach.Meredith
Thank you, Maria! The hardest part about being a therapist is my work life balance and navigating having enough energy for clients and for my two young children. The best part is after 23 years, I am still passionate about helping people and it’s the most rewarding when they make personal changes to improve their life❤.
@terriw919
As a client who has been helped tremendously by my therapist, I have the utmost respect and admiration for therapists who are dedicated to helping people. It is enlightening to see what many of you experience. I always tell my therapist how much I appreciate her and the work we've done together. I also want to thank you all for doing what you do!
@everyonesrunnin
Thank you for this Marie! As someone who is still in the first years of my private practice, one of the hardest parts is not having more inquiries from potential clients, despite my marketing efforts. It makes me compare myself to others and the success that they’ve had, and feel like there must be something fundamental to who I am that makes people less inclined to want to reach out to me for therapy.
@versasdemialma
I don't think I give 100% to my clients but I feel I try my best to give the best I can on a given day. I don't know what that number is but 100% sounds like perfect attention and perfect Prescence and I don't believe any therapist can be perfect for themselves or others. If we have that perception and expectation of ourselves, we will definitely end up disappointing others and ourselves and then burn out. I have others in my personal life I also need to care for, and including myself (recovering people pleaser) so I would say I try to give my clients the best I can for them, but I'm also not going to put all of myself and perceived worth into how much I can "give people". That's what I did when I was a people pleaser and when someone didn't like me or expressed disappointment or criticism of my work it would devastate me. I have learned to take that responsibility off my shoulders. I can support you, validate you, help you process big emotions, problem solve with you but ultimately my clients lives, wellbeing, and choices aren't my responsibility. Boundaries with self and others is a very essential skill to learn and practice with clients.
@dharmaphile
I found myself crying while watching this, especially the part where you explicitly named validation. Thank you
@nitameyerink4296
If you give away 100% you have nothing left for you. I would say I give 85% and keep some in reserve so I can focus on a 5 minute reset between clients. Quality of presence, safe space, and being able to listen is more important than this twisted idea that if you aren't 'leaving it all on the table you shouldn't be in this field'.
@bill6112
Appreciate your honesty about 100%. We are human. The overall relationship which is centered around safety and support can provide grace on the hard days.
@cns7404
This is so validating and supportive!!! I appreciate it when we, as therapists, can have an honest conversation about the struggles of being in this field! 😢❤
@labdian
I work in a country where psychologists earn minimum wage in institutional settings (schools, hospitals, prisons etc.). You'd be horrified to hear the numbers. I work in three settings and all those agencies expect me to give a 100 per cent. To get any additional income I keep a private practice, but the rent and the expenses eat up almost all of the earnings. To be honest, the hardest thing for me and many, many, many psychologists in my supervision and consult groups often say the hardest thing about this job is a thing that wasn't mentioned here at all, but I know many school psychologists in the US also have that problem, and that is the severe fragmentation of our days. I am sometimes at four places during one work day, consulting one or two people in every one of those places. In April and May when the burnout is in full bloom in my country I've had more and more cases of double-booking, forgetting appointments, mixing up times etc. If you're in a school at 8 a.m., kindergarten at 12, School Board at 4 p.m. and then slave away in your private practice for the last hours of the workday before getting home and cooking a meal for your family at 9 p.m., you're absolutely prone to mixing things up and getting them wrong, and since the private practice is the least predictable of all the other workplaces, it gets the last crumbs of my energy for the day. Yes, I know, it's poor boundaries and very huge workload, but many psychologists here in Latvia just see no other option if they want to pay there bills and mortgages, cover all the courses, supervision and all the other huge expenses.
@Lana2006-o7i
I can’t give anything or anyone 100% of my attention and focus most of the time. I pay close attention but am also expected to be typing note and completely forms. I work in community health. One therapist I knew had a caseload of 180!
@georgeanngash9896
I need 1 also
@CarisaSanchez
Any great support groups for therapist or networks that are virtual for therapist in the community?
@nitameyerink4296