Being A Therapist is My Privilege

I mean it, I love this work. I truly cannot imagine doing something different professionally. I studied psychology in college; it was the major that I knew I wanted to pursue right from the start. I haven’t strayed from the field since then. Though this work is not easy, it is incredibly rewarding. It can be tiring and even upsetting at times. I’ve heard a lot of very sad and tragic stories. But more often than that, this work is inspiring and absolutely fascinating. I’ve also heard some incredibly moving and uplifting stories full of hope and resiliency. I never want to stop hearing the stories people have to tell.

I love people. I love getting to know them, trying to understand them, trying to figure out what motivates them and determining what is most important to them. I especially love to see how similar all human beings are, no matter how different they appear on the outside or how different their lives look. That is what stands out to me the most. There is no doubt that we are all unique, but I have found that we all share the same types of pain, and the same types of joys. People tend to think they’re alone in their struggles, but I have the unique perspective of being able to see that they truly are not. I love being able to see the human race from this point of view.

I am enormously grateful that I get to do this work. Each time I talk with a client, he or she is trusting me with some very personal and intimate information about his or her life. What an honor that is. Though my clients are not my friends, and we don’t form personal relationships, they are very special to me and we form meaningful connections that I cherish.

This is a job, yes. This is my livelihood, and this is how I support myself and my family. But, more than that, it is a large part of what makes my life so meaningful. It is a large part of my purpose. I want to participate in healing. I want to cultivate joy, forgiveness, compassion, and love. I get to do that in this work. I am forever indebted to the universe for giving me this opportunity