I’m Not Ready!

I consider myself to be young in the field, the people I help “needs” don’t treat me as if I’m young. Let me explain…A client doesn’t know or sometimes even care what experience a therapist has for their particular issue. They just know that they can no longer hold their issue and they need someone else to help!! I haven’t had the experience of a client saying, “Oh no, I have “real” issues and you need a certain number of years to handle this information!” I wish my very first FEW client would have told me that, because I remembering walking away feeling and probably looking like, “What just happened, I wasn’t expecting this…this is day ONE!”  In other professions you get to build up to the more difficult task, but when you work with people in a therapeutic capacity day one could be equivalent to other professions year 12. For example, in working in the business world your supervisor usually doesn’t trust you with a billion dollar account on day one or maybe EVER! When working in community mental health being able to manage a “billion dollar” account on day one is what I feel help you to grow as a professional. Unlike business, you grow and then get the account! In this journey as a clinician I feel that growth is inevitable. Your capacity for others change as well as for yourself. Your level of compassion increases every time “you’re not ready”. I believe experience is our greatest teacher. We all have something to offer; the wounded and the healer alike.