A Deeper Dive:  How Vulnerable Can a Therapist Be?

For as long as I can remember, “Peeling off the layers to reveal the real” has been my credo. In a dream, the words “Bare Boldly,” echoed through my sleeping but ever so active brain.” When messages come through that insistently, they can’t be ignored. My inner and outer work as a hybrid therapist-journalist prepare me to take this on every day. When that happens, I question if I am too self-revealing. Last year, I penned an article for Psych Central called When A Therapist and Journalist Comes Clean About Her Self Doubt. It takes a confessional tone as I admit that the way I present isn’t always an accurate portrayal of what is going on beneath the surface. With a façade of confidence at stake, I have often acted “as if” and convinced myself that I had what it took to handle any situation, whether on my own or with the support of colleagues. I know enough to know what I don’t know and when to reach out for peer or administrative supervision. So far, so good, after four decades as a therapist in various practice settings. When it seems appropriate, I do inform my clients about my twin addictions of co-dependence and workaholism. I share with them that my training as a bereavement counselor is both professional and personal, since I was widowed at 40, and became an “adult orphan” in 2010 when my mom died two years after my dad passed. I never tell anyone “I know how you feel,” but do say that I can only imagine what their losses fe...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Aging Personal Authenticity Shame Vulnerability Source Type: blogs