Posted by lonelygirl on April 23, 2004, at 13:43:56
In reply to Ts: Field choice *always* = caring? (from logic), posted by spoc on April 23, 2004, at 10:52:44
FYI - I actually read this whole post (and the other one!). I copied and pasted it into Word and it is nearly 4 pages! Just a couple of things I wanted to add...
> From a strictly logical standpoint, caring can't be *the* main reason all Ts enter this field….When we are considering what we want to be when we grow up, a field in which we could (often) work for ourselves, set our own hours and make around $125 to $190 in 45 minutes would appeal greatly to some for mainly *those* reasons.
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You seem to be approaching this question primarily from a financial standpoint. I think there are additional, non-altruistic reasons someone may choose this field. For one, there is a certain amount of prestige in being “Dr. Somebody” (although getting a Ph.D. in any field gives one the title “Dr.,” a psychologist is one that actually assumes a healthcare sort of role). For another, there is a lot of power involved in being privy to people’s deepest thoughts and feelings, and in having the authority to state “why” people think and behave the way they do. Even in “caring” itself, there can be an element of self-interest, in wanting to play a role in others’ lives (be important to others), have the ability to solve people’s problems, and be perceived by others as a compassionate individual.
> I was always fascinated by it myself, and even began college on a psychology scholarship (there’s a clue for you!). I found that my classmates weren't more likely than the general population to be nurturing or caring types.
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I assume you mean here undergraduates majoring in psychology. I would just point out that a lot of those who major in psychology as undergraduates have no intention of actually becoming therapists, and even some who do have that intention change their minds later. So, I don’t think your psychology undergraduate classmates are necessarily representative of the entire population of therapists. It’s possible that only the very most nurturing and caring students are the ones to go on to become therapists (though that is not necessarily true, either!).
> The client isn't looking for, or aware, to the same extent that (i.e.) their sales should now be rising due to that better advertising campaign; their communications network should be streamlined now due to that technical expertise; their vision should be improved now due to that surgery…. But in it we as clients -- more so than other types of clients -- must largely have blind faith that the best effort is being made. Which maybe does reduce the pressure on this type of professional.
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That may be true, but I think in another sense, it makes things more difficult, as it also means they can’t “prove” that the client is really getting any benefit. Also, not all clients have that kind of blind faith. My own psychologist once told me that frequently, people come in expecting him to wave his magic wand and make them feel better, and when it doesn’t work that way, they get frustrated and even angry with him.
> If anything I think that the actual rate of compensation itself is what causes a lot of the conflict in patients over "paying for someone to care." The average price tag seems to make the statement that that is exactly how off-putting the prospect of providing this service would be otherwise.
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You could look at it that way, but I think the truth is more that pay is more reflective of the difficulty of becoming a therapist than in the pleasantness of the work. The pay is sort of a reward for the hard work of going through the graduate school, testing, and training necessary to become a therapist. After all, being a garbage collector isn’t pleasant work by any means, but due to the fact that it doesn’t require a lot of education or training, the pay isn’t particularly great (as far as I know). Compensation varies, of course, but it seems to me that the compensation for a therapist is roughly equivalent to that of other professionals with similar educational requirements.
> Anyway, as far as what Ts “go through,” at the end of the day is it really so much “worse” than whatever the industry-specific pressures, hazards and requirements are of any high paying field.
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I’m not sure about this. Any field with a high level of compensation is pretty demanding -- you have to earn your compensation! I have read, though, that mental health professionals have one of the highest rates of suicide of any profession. I think it’s a very *emotionally* intense job. Some jobs are very *physically* intense; some are very *mentally* intense (I think this applies to therapists too); but few are as emotionally involved as the therapist’s job. Therapy means taking on other people’s problems -- often their worst problems -- and it has to be difficult to deal with half a dozen or so people’s lives every day. On top of it, it seems like there is a lot of pressure on therapists to be “together,” to have all the answers not only to others’ problems, but also to their own.
> In struggling with my own recent decision whether to quit a certain T, I spent many sessions trying to discuss with him that his may simply not have been the best methodology for me personally… He wouldn't "let me go," and even made my concerns all a function of my other problems, which really twisted and tortured my brain. Finally a third party in a position as good as any to comment had to point out to me not to forget that this was a businessman like any other, who of course did not want to lose an account (and that my account in particular was likely far from negligible towards his bottom line).
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Interesting thought -- and I have a different perspective because my psychologist works through the university’s counseling center. I suppose this is one of the advantages to going to the counseling center; he has no financial motivation to keep me there. He gets paid a specific salary, and if he “loses” a client, another one gets assigned. We actually discussed this at my session this week. He told me that he wouldn’t want me to keep seeing him if he didn’t think he could help me, and in fact it would be unethical for him to continue seeing me if he didn’t think it benefited me.
poster:lonelygirl
thread:339137
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040419/msgs/339188.html