Hey everybody! Today's question actually comes from the website
And if you haven't hopped over to katimorton.com you should check it out,
There are not only free workbooks and free worksheets available to print and use on your own,
But there are also a ton of people on there helping support each other in the chat, so I would check it out.
But today's question is actually kind of interesting, so let's get into it.
"Hey Kati! I am one semester away from graduating with a B.S. in psychology
"And I will hopefully be attending graduate school to become a therapist.
"I have heard from you and several other professionals that it is critical that therapists participate in therapy themselves"
- It really is.
"As a clinician, what is this experience like?
"Since you know therapy so well, is it difficult to submit to the process as a client?
"Is it easy for someone in this position to be overcritical of their therapist or overanalyze themselves?
"On the flip side of this question, if you've ever had another therapist as your client,
"How did that impact your approach?
"I would greatly appreciate sharing any insights you may have."
Now first I wanna say that it is imperative, I think, that if you are a therapist, that you are in therapy yourself.
Because, in all truth - Something that I never really talked about, I guess, is that
When I was first a therapist, I found it extremely exhausting.
I would work all day in the clinic - And it wasn't like one-on-one sessions, even,
I just ran groups and only had like, two sessions
And I was just wiped. My body was so worn out, it was almost like I wasn't -
It's like I was training for something, and I hadn't worked that muscle before, and I was just completely fatigued.
And so I would come home, I'd get off at like 4,
And I would literally take a two and a half hour nap. And then I'd get up, have dinner and interact with my friends,
But before that, I really just couldn't, I would be so wiped, so I needed the nap.
So I think that there's something important to be said about how taxing therapy can be on us.
Therefore, if we are offering therapy to others, we need to get therapy ourselves.
And I will say that I do - When I was in school, I was much more critical of my therapist.
And it's actually funny, and I think it has something to do for me with the fact that I was changing therapists at the time.
My original therapist, Rebecca, who was the one I saw for years, and helped me deal with the stuff with my dad passing away,
And then it was honestly - Like a month after he passed, she retired.
And so I was left looking for someone and I was kind of a vulnerable position,
And I saw someone that I didn't really like and didn't click with, and I was hypercritical of him.
First of all, it was a guy, and I prefer women -
With all that being said, I would say for me, I was much more critical of my therapist when I was actually in school.
Because every day, all day, I'm just hearing about therapy stuff.
I'm talking about all the different strategies and different techniques,
And so I'm much more hyperaware of what's going on.
As someone out of school who still practices, I actually don't find myself being that critical.
One thing that I do know, because I do have a few clients who are studying to be psychologists or MFTs, LCSWs,
I don't explain it as much as I used to. Someone on the website had commented and said that
She could see that switch in her therapist.
And I don't explain certain terms or certain feelings in the way that I may initially.
Like a lot of times, there are terms - And you guys know this, that I'll use a term and then I'll say,
"Oh, just so you know, that means blank-blank-blank...."
I'll assume that they know, and I might even check - "And you've heard that, right?"
"You know what I'm talking about?" And they'll say, "Yeah," And so I won't beat around the bush
Or go describing a situation, I'll just tell it to them straight and know that they understand that term
And that I don't have to define it in some other way to make it make sense.
Does that make sense at all?
Because it's like we're already speaking the same language.
All of the acronyms that I use, all of the weird, bizarre therapy terms that we use,
Even like a word like, "countertransference", I wouldn't have to explain what that is.
But, to the normal person who's not in a therapy program, they wouldn't know what that means, and I would have to explain it.
And so that's really the only shift that I take with my clients, 'cause I don't really explain things -
I explain them more abruptly and using the therapy terms - I don't beat around the bush.
And lastly, like I was saying before, now that I'm out of school I find that I'm less critical of my therapist and the whole therapy process
But I will say that I do - I am better at finding the right therapist for me.
Knowing the right techniques and the type of therapy that I prefer, because everybody's different.
I also know that I have to see a woman, it just feels more comfortable for me, she needs to be older than me,
There are a lot of things that I've learned through my own therapy process.
And, being a therapist myself, I've known how important it is for us to feel that intense connection with our therapist
And really feel that they get us. And so I've really become quite good at picking out the therapist for me
And knowing the type of therapy that I like to engage in, because I've tried various ones.
So would encourage you - If you're in school to become a therapist, and they're recommending that you get into personal therapy,
And you've never been and you're really nervous,
Try out a bunch of different types if you can. Unless you're working on one specific issue and you need to keep the longevity of the relationship,
I think it's beneficial to know - What CBT looks like, what does just regular talk therapy or psychodynamic therapy,
What about DBT, do you have that available?
Trying out a couple. Because every type of therapy and every therapist is gonna be different,
And I think it's important for us to get a varied scope of it so that we can understand what's best for us
And maybe, it might even change the way that you practice,
Because I find that I enjoy the type of therapy that I actually practice with my clients.
And so it's just been giving me another level of insight into the therapy process as a whole.
I hope that was interesting and helpful.
I know that there's a lot of questions and a lot of you are in programs to become a therapist yourself
And so leave in the comments what your thoughts about this are.
That's just my personal experience, I'm just pulling from the things that I've done in my life and in my own therapy treatment planning,
And what's worked and what hasn't worked, and what I've noticed.
So let us know, give it a thumbs up if you liked this, and I will see you next time.
Bye!