Dear Nekoshema:

What I know is that in the U.S. to be a practicing psychotherapist, certified and all, you need a Master degree. Funny thing, there is a relatively new breed of ONLINE THERAPISTS also called maybe LIFE COACHES, online or otherwise, that are not regulated, requiring no certification or degree. Some of these people advertise themselves when commenting on this very website.

My question to you is about patience- it requires so much patience just to find out what you need to do- and then the education, certification, internship- lots and lots of patience… and then you are certified and sitting in the office and have your client there, my question is: do you have the patience to not jump in and scream (at the patient or client): “This is what you need to do to solve your problems: X Y and Z! Now do it!”

I used to think I wanted to be a psychotherapist but realized I do not have the latter kind of patience required, to sit with a client hour after hour (although being paid for it is a motivation) and knowing how I have been and how people are resistant to change, how invested in delusional thinking and repeating self defeating behaviors, well, I wouldn’t have the patience to focus on them, flow with their process… What do you think?

anita

Why is family counselling important to you? What if.. what if. . What if you enrol in the course and pursue that and what if you find a specified forum like this and do this? You obviously have a care and a need and an ability. Work upwards .

I became a moderator on a forum like this but slightly more extreme and I only went on there cos i was coming off drugs and looking surrepticiously for a new contact. Im glad I never found it but I found a new calling.

Be patient . Create and follow opportunities. It’s going to ve ok. Maybe there’s something else planned for you and that’s why the door seems closed to what you think you want. Msybe you’re on the right lines but time will find you your niche

Believe it or not I had the same dream. In Awestralia, you also need to do huge amounts of study (and supervised practicum)in order to be a registered counsellor. The most secure path is a BA in Psych. followed by a Masters in Counselling. (around 5 to 6 years) It is discouraging to say the least but I think I would enjoy the course anyway. (have done some units already)
One option that I might follow one day is a Drug and Alcohol Counsellor. You do their course part time over 12 months or so. A very practical course. It is a very specific course so you might tire of dealing with the same issue all the time ie. substance abuse, alcoholism. I think there is quite strict protocol in how you counsel these people.
One counsellor told me “don’t do counselling for the money because it is quite low. Also you get tired of listening to people complaining all the time” So I empathise with Anita on that one. Not sure I would have the patience either. I’ve fantasised in the past of looking like Dr. Jack Freud/Jung and saying “now, what’s the matter?, take a seat on my couch.”
I imagine you go home at the end of the day, totally exhausted from listening to everyone’s crap! 🙂

Dear Nekoshema:

How exciting to me, the thought of being young enough to have all these options and the time to materialize one or two. Deciding between working with dogs and cats OR humans, what a choice! Write more anytime about your decision making, it is fascinating to me.
anita