Disabled With Ptsd, But Want To Be A Counseling Psychologist

[falling_wave]

I know many professional mental health jobs who ONLY hire people who have experienced mental health treatment themselves. This does not mean those who are simply symptomatic but those who have and are actively working towards insight and change. Also it would be nieve to think that any therapist does not experience their own issues. They just don't self disclose. Being a wounded healer brings tremendous insight, empathy, and can connect some who might be resistant with any other therapist. There is an unspoken intuition among trauma clients of who gets it and who doesnt. I'm not a therapist yet. I'm not there in my education or personal work yet but I work in mental health and I have had so many people tell me that I was the first person they could work with because they could sense that I got and I cared more deeply. I also think self monitoring, self care, and supervision are of the utmost importance.

 

[Lionheart]

I also think self monitoring, self care, and supervision are of the utmost importance.

yes, i totally agree, and I appreciate that you shared your insights and experience.

 

[joeylittle]

It's interesting: the difference in what is required to be licensed as a social worker (therapist) in the US/UK/CAN vs AUS is profound. AUS doesn't require supervised clinical hours, and there isn't really an active regulatory body.

Things also seem a little more fast-tracked if you want to be a Clinical Psychologist in Australia, and it has (again) less regulation.

Psychiatry appears to be the same nearly everywhere in the world. It is a medical degree with a specialization, and that takes 10-13 years. Doesn't mean you're any good at it, mind.

I do think it's a great reminder to find out where and how your potential therapist-psychologist-psychiatrist did their training. I've always asked about that and their own mental health history.

Anyway, I often think differing viewpoints on the forum have roots in actual differences of practice, country to country. (It's why I love the flags so much). In the US if someone is an MSW/LCSW, there is a standard of training and supervised hours you can count on, vs say an LPC. (I was hurt but in retrospect fortunate when my LPC therapist flat out said that she was not qualified to help me anymore, and that she needed me to go elsewhere ASAP).

Important conversation.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I think its quite noble to have an interest in this sort of profession.... I don't discount completely the notion of "wounded healers" (but I'm glad @Ms Spock had the guts to say something that is never said on this forum, and I think we all know why...) I think that it is something that has to be looked into VERY deeply with a critical eye.

Lets damn well face it. PTSD is pretty much up there on the scale of mental health severity, even more so if someone is disabled and unable to work because of their PTSD. (Yep, I'm in that category.) I understand that certain employers want counselors who have "walked the walk" but at the same time, walking the ADD walk or the GAD walk or even the MDD walk isn't quite the same as walking the PTSD walk. I'm not trying to sound snobby or give the impression that we're in some special club, but yes, I think that PTSD for many (most) of us is a COMPLETELY different realm.

So right now the OP has an idea of what he wants to do. Next steps? Going back to school, obtaining practical experience, shadowing when possible, etc. I don't know how others experience this disorder (obviously) but I'm one of those people who takes on the pain of EVERYONE else. Counseling is a no-go for me, most definitely. I couldn't handle something major like reporting sexual abuse, dealing with overly emotional clients who oftentimes misdirect their anger at me, and so on. I couldn't put myself in a position for re-traumatization. I've fought my way back, and I'm not so dumb as to believe that my healing won't always be in a precarious state.

I say volunteer for a crisis line. Yup, a crisis line. If you can handle shift after shift after shift of people calling in while they are at their worst, then I'd say that maybe you can handle this counseling thing. But, if working a crisis line puts you under, then it might be time to start thinking of other lines of work.

 

[Lionheart]

I think its quite noble to have an interest in this sort of profession.... I don't discount completely the notion of "wounded healers" (but I'm glad @Ms Spock had the guts to say something that is never said on this forum, and I think we all know why...) I think that it is something that has to be looked into VERY deeply with a critical eye.

I agree @Solara I too am glad that Ms Spock had the courage to challenge me on this and I will continue to look deeply into into this.

Also i think I could handle people in crisis situations with the correct training and supervision, but it may turn out that I am wrong and I don't want that to happen, so I will do all I can to ensure that I will not be compromising others healing in any way due to my own "wounds", beforehand.

 

[Hashi]

{Messed up first attempt at posting - edited to put up this complete post instead}

I'm not posting on the forum any more but I saw this while googling something about Jung and wounded healers. And I can't let it go.

I agree so much with @MsSpock. At least one person has asked here about what criteria we should apply when deciding if it's appropriate to become a therapist. My answer to that is that it would be someone who doesn't identify themselves as:

disabled with Link Removed

or says

Hopefully, anxiety and depression will not keep me from being good at helping others to heal

or

I figure I have three years to get 'well enough'.

I think people often misunderstand what the wounded healer archetype is. The way that a wounded healer is able to help others is not simply because they understand the wound. It's because they found their way to heal from the wound. They were wounded, and they can listen from that viewpoint, but the wound doesn't significantly affect their functioning now, in either everyday life or as a healer/therapist. If it did, or they thought it might, they wouldn't be a reliable healer.

So, rather than say

having the experience to be able to truly understand their clients could be the thing that makes them perfect for the job

I think there are people, who have worked hard on their own healing, who have a lot to offer the field

I have to say that it’s not the ability to understand, but what the wounded healer therapist can do with that understanding. What they have done with that understanding for themselves.

I also think it’s not about how hard they’ve worked in their own healing that gives them something to offer, but how successful their hard work has been and how much they’ve healed. There are people here who have worked extremely hard and are still very symptomatic.

You may think I’m nit picking words, but I think it’s an important distinction. The wounded healer offers others help based on their own healing from a wound, not based on their own woundedness.

Perhaps I would be better suited to drug and alcohol treatment

I’m not sure what your reason is for saying this. People undergoing drug and alcohol treatment can be extremely demanding, can be aggressive, self destructive or suicidal, can behave in very upsetting ways, and they also deserve reliable therapy for as long as they need it.

I have no idea if this is your reason for the comment, but sometimes people seem to believe that they can go into certain types of therapy that are more manageable for themselves and less risk to clients because the therapy/counselling is short term or somehow low level.

I used to do short term, low level counselling myself (before I’d recovered from amnesia, minimisation and denial, before I got PTSD symptoms). It was part of my job while living overseas and I was given training in it, so I could be there for other foreign nationals who were homesick or felt out of place in their work environment. Except my “clients” didn’t seem to know they were meant to keep things small and started telling me all kinds of stuff that freaked me out. One was beating his wife. Another nice rich Westerner had just been on a South-East Asian sex tourism holiday – he told me about it because he was afraid he’d contracted HIV. So, no condoms for the sex workers then and I doubt they were empowered in other ways either.

I didn't even have PTSD at the time, and my clients were still inconsiderate enough to bring up all sorts of upsetting things they weren't "meant" to.

if you aren't managed or in a "remission" you put people at risk.

I find it surprising that on a forum where the predominant theme is that PTSD symptoms can hit you at any time, even if you've been managing symptoms or in "remission" for a year, or five or ten, people (not just you, Albatross, but quite a lot of people here) can also argue that it isn’t putting clients at unreasonable risk to become a therapist.

The other major theme I see is how hard it is as a therapy client to deal with any real or perceived lack of validation, support, professionalism, consistency or reliability from therapists.

How do these two things fit with becoming a therapist oneself? What if you're triggered or symptoms flare up? What if you dissociate, or become fearful during a session? What if depression or anxiety make it too hard to do your job adequately for a time, leaving you with the options of "abandoning" a client or treating them inadequately?

You can't have it both ways. You are disabled or you aren’t. Either PTSD affects your functioning for life or it doesn’t. Even if you believe the effects are on and off over time, that’s a belief that there are times when functioning is likely to be impaired. Personally, I don’t believe PTSD has to be lifelong but I’m quite a lone voice here saying that so I'll go with the general view for a moment - I’m very curious how this is reconciled with becoming a therapist. At the very least, I have to say this for people who post extensively about their symptoms on the forum, or describe themselves as disabled. A therapist has to make a commitment to therapy clients who may have their own abandonment and attachment issues, and who need a therapist they can depend on.

I wonder, @Lionheart777, do you believe that for some reason you won’t be disabled with PTSD by the time you qualify, even though you have been for 17 years until now? If you believe you still would be, would you advertise to prospective clients that you were disabled with PTSD? I have to wonder how many people here would advise going to see a therapist who described themselves like that. Or alternatively, one who hid it.

 

[Lionheart]

@Hashi ,

I respectfully disagree at this point, but maybe I will change my mind, who knows?

Ultimately it is my decision, and I will make the proper one for me as I receive professional opinions from those with their doctorate in psychology who I am contacting and who will be able to tell me from a professional stand point if I should reconsider my career choice.

And just because I am presently disabled does not mean I am going to stay that way, as I have said, I've had 17 years of ongoing therapy and am doing quite well.

Anyway I appreciate your input although I don't agree with it.
.

 

[Hashi]

as I have said, I've had 17 years of ongoing therapy and am doing quite well.

I seem to have missed you saying this. I only noticed you say that you have been disabled with PTSD for about 17 years.

I will also respectively disagree. I've said how I feel and I will leave the thread. I'm very glad that @Ms Spock has posted here as she did.

 

[digger]

I have to say that it’s not the ability to understand, but what the wounded healer therapist can do with that understanding. What they have done with that understanding for themselves.

Absolutely. But that's not actually different to what I'm saying. I don't think anyone here is suggesting that having been 'wounded' yourself is alone anywhere near enough to qualify you as a suitable candidate for being a therapist. Only that it might, as part of a bigger set of skills, give someone additional and valuable insight and empathy.

No one seems to be suggesting that this would be a suitable career path for everyone, or one that anyone should take on without having worked on their own healing first, trained, and committed to supervision and monitoring of their own health. That is what I would expect from any ethical mental health care provider, whether they had their own history of mental health problems themselves or not. (Incidentally, with reference to what joeylittle was saying about different countries, ongoing supervision here in the UK is a requirement by most of (I haven't checked every one) the professional bodies that counsellors and psychotherapists are registered with)

 

[intothelight]

The way that a wounded healer is able to help others is not simply because they understand the wound. It's because they found their way to heal from the wound. They were wounded, and they can listen from that viewpoint, but the wound doesn't significantly affect their functioning now, in either everyday life or as a healer/therapist.

I think Hashi hit the nail on the head here, as it is not the wound that defines the healer, but the healing from that wound.

@Lionheart777 I don't know how much work you have done towards an undergraduate degree in the past, but I would encourage you to return to school as education can open many doors and explore the different options that are available. Take your interest and explore the opportunities through classes and volunteering, as through this process you will learn about your own capabilities and conversely limitations.

Some great points about wounded healer have been made here, but there is also more going on than just a member thinking about a particular profession and the pros and cons of that profession. Here is someone who has been out of work for 17 years and is feeling strong enough to think about seeking employment. Encourage people to push their limits and to strive to do more. Lets face it, getting out and taking a few classes or volunteering are huge steps to getting back into "normal" life as it is defined. We are only disabled by real limitations and sometimes we don't even know what those limitations are until we reach them. There can be a huge difference in what we "think" versus reality.

Yes, there are really crappy therapists and there are really crappy professionals in all disciplines. In reality, therapy doesn't "make" a person better, but it gives us the tools to make ourselves better as it pertains to PTSD and some disorders. Yes, there are people who are so lost or ill that a therapist wields so much power, control and influence that someone who isn't the most ethical can do great harm. Same with anyone who we put our trust in.

 

[Lionheart]

@intothelight

Thank you for your insight and encouragement.I really like your suggestions. It may be that my health is so that I cannot return to work yet, and that is something I need to explore and volunteering is one great way that I could do that.

I want to make clear that I may be going for a Bachelor's degree in psychology, but I may change my mind about a career in counseling at anytime because of my PTSD and trauma history or for any other reason that may present itself. I would certainly not want to cause harm to others or be half-a*s at my work.

I may change my mind and go into a completely different field, there is still time before starting school before I am locked into that area of education....and It is not like I can get work after the Bachelors degree anyway, as one needs higher education and training to get into the workforce.

I really don't want anyone to think that I am dismissing warnings that I may not be suited to counseling. I take that warning very seriously!!! I just thought I could bring some experience and compassion to the field.

One thing is for sure, I am going back to school to further my education and I hope to eventually move from being disabled to being back in the workforce although I may choose another area of education to concentrate on.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I find it surprising that on a forum where the predominant theme is that PTSD symptoms can hit you at any time, even if you've been managing symptoms or in "remission" for a year, or five or ten, people (not just you, Albatross, but quite a lot of people here) can also argue that it isn’t putting clients at unreasonable risk to become a therapist.

I think this says it all.

My thoughts on this topic are a bit jumbled, but I agree wholeheartedly with @Hashi. Its no longer a matter of "following your dreams" and "doing what you want to do" as now you have the client aspect to deal with.

First of all, do no harm.

Are people taking this into account? Can you honestly say that you can be in your "A" game for all clients, control your dissociation, anxiety, etc when dealing with clients?

Do you realize that you're essentially going to have to get yourself to a MUCH higher level of healing than if you were to go into many other fields? (Hear me out on this one.) I'll use myself as an example. I have to get back to a certain level of functioning. I have to be able to handle my anxiety and stick to a certain type of schedule. But in terms of dealing with triggers, I can avoid them like hell! I won't be listening to peoples problems day in and day out, dealing with abuse issues, etc. Do you think you can get yourself to that level of healing and stability? Its one thing to be able to manage your life on disability, another to be bombarded with these things 40+ hours a week.

Perhaps I would be better suited to drug and alcohol treatment

I'm not sure why you think this? The reason that MANY people have drug and alcohol issues is because they have bipolar disorder (and are self-medicating) or have major depressive disorder (and are self-medicating) or have general anxiety disorder (and are self-medicating) or have PTSD (and are self-medicating) or have schizophrenia (and are self-medicating). So not only do you have to know how to deal with drug and alcohol issues, but you also have to know how to help those with other mental health issues as well. Have you ever watched Intervention? Maybe that would be a start into getting a view of the addict's world. In essence, you'll have to know how to handle a PTSD person....who's symptoms are off the charts because they're high or drunk or going through withdrawals. Plus a lot of people self-medicate in order to erase bad memories. You'll likely have a lot of past trauma disclosed to you if you go into drug/alcohol counseling. In effect, you'll be dealing with many dual-diagnosis people which is harder than dealing with a non-dual diagnosis person (dual diagnosis=drug/alcohol addiction plus another mental health diagnosis).

Still I am not a qualified psychologist at this point in time and would hope that proper training and supervision would prepare me for such things....maybe not, this is what I want to explore before making any decision.

I think this is a common misperception with any field. The truth is that no amount of training or education with prepare you for all aspects of any given job. What I mean by saying this is that we all have certain traits within us that make us suitable or unsuitable for any job. I think it may be a little naïve to believe that training and education can eliminate the effects that PTSD may have on our career.



I question how much thought you've given to becoming a counselor? I ask because I've given a LOT of thought into what I am pursuing. I have taken into consideration my strengths and weaknesses. I've considered the working environment of my intended career. I've considered things such as the flexibility of the job itself. I've considered on job demands. I've considered how much it will cost me to get into that career. I've considered quite a few things. Would I be going into my intended career if finances weren't a constraint? Maybe not, as I only have so many "free" degrees available to me at this point. I know I can't take on any debt in my pursuit of getting back to work, because if it all goes kerflooey, I can't be in a ton of debt as that will make my life so much harder. Have you thought about all of these variables?

Is it worth it to put so much time and money into your education at your age? (Hear me out on this one, its a practical issue.) Educational costs have literally skyrocketed. We no longer live in a world where education is always a good bet. I can't tell you how many people say that they regret going to school because of the debt they've acquired. You've got to finish your undergrad and then go on to get your professional degree. Yes, some schools are indeed cheaper than others, but in many cases the financial debt is still quite a bit to take on. Is that going to be too much if you get out there and realize you can't work? Will you be able to pay off your student loans if it turns out that you can't work and need to stay on SSDI? (You can't get out of student loans via bankruptcy and the government process for discharging loans IS hard to get through.....and if you've got any sort of assets at all, the tax man WILL come along and say that the discharged amount is taxable so you're on the hook for income taxes.....) Yes, its great to have goals and such, but keep these very real issues in mind as well.

Have you considered getting involved with vocational rehab? (DVR?) I know a few people on the site have been involved with them, and I plan on seeking out their assistance later this year. This is probably a good thing to look into as they can assess your strengths and weaknesses beyond "this is what I want to do because I want to help other people". There are also programs which boost disability income while you're seeking to get back into the job market as a way of helping you financially so that you can get back to work.