Are psychologists really happier people?
- Amaranta Penate-Marty
- Mar 20, 2015
- 2 min read
As my favorite psychologist Albert Ellis once said when someone asked him why he became a psychotherapist: “I primarily wanted to help myself!” Of course, most of the people in the helping professions want to help others and make the world a better place, but in my case, as in Ellis’, I started to study psychology to help me, me, me!!!
I will soon finish the Master in Professional Counseling and I have so many concepts in my head I could write a book as thick as the bible and sometimes I cannot help but wonder, what am I going to do to put all those concepts in practice and help others while I help myself to understand life and human behavior.
I can tell you that psychology concepts can be complicated and that after more than two years of reading and learning about the human psyche there is so much more about helping others than asking the typical question of: “So, how does that make you feel?” I wonder what would be to be in front of a patient after reading his personal intake form and learned a little bit about what brought him to therapy and think: how can I really help this person become a happier and healthier individual?
The human mind doesn’t always fit in a diagnostic manual; there are so many exceptions to the rule. How much biology really has to do with each case? How much their past and what they can’t even remember from their childhood influenced the person they are now? How much can you do for them in a one-hour session? Is the mind of the psychologist actually healthier than the patient’s? Is that professional counselor actually happier than the person he is trying to help?
I wonder….
What I can tell you so far is that I think your therapist at least has a better idea of how your mind influences your actions, what are the common mental problems and their symptoms and more important, he has the desire to help you! As another of my favorite psychologist John Grohol would say: "How do you cure mental illness? You don't! You help people understand what it is, learn and engage in new ways of coping with its symptoms, and help them do the best they can with the resources they have available".
Google a picture of the late Albert Ellis, what do you think? I see that he was always smiling; that gives me hope!
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