I imagined growing up to be a therapist when I was a teenager, because my mother worked as a psychotherapy office manager and the therapists seemed like interesting people. Mental Health Awareness Month, established in 1949 and recognized each May, is a great opportunity for us to talk about stigma, share statistics, and demystify psychotherapy and other healthy treatment options. As I think about the tears that dripped down the face of one of the mothers who had lost her son in the 1970s in the clandestine and infamous German colony known as Colonia Dignidad, located in Southern Chile, I distinctly remember the words of one of my college advisers: “And to think, Benjamin, that after all these years, she still remembers it as if it was yesterday.” My interest in becoming a mental health professional stems from my experiences working with individuals and families who had been violently persecuted under Chile’s Pinochet dictatorship and during the Salvadoran Civil War. The reality is that lasting change can take months, sometimes years, to achieve and you need specialist, experienced staff to do this. I became a therapist to walk that “scary road” with people and to let them know that I do understand! I became a therapist because of the sexual abuse and domestic violence that I experienced as a child. I think that this is her goal to help others living with the same things, stepping in and doing more for them, kind of like teaching Understanding is what I received, and understanding is what I want to give back! As a therapist, I have been allowed access into the inner worlds of others. I like working in the mental health field because i like doing something where I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am helping someone lead a better life, one that is healthy and mindful instead of wrapped up in worry and fear. I truly believe that if this is your calling then you have to know that there are millions who would love to see you follow that calling. this made me counselling as a client. Motivate others. I applaud you for getting in the trenches and making such a difference in the lives of others. I watched people who believed they could overcome problems truly rise to the occasion and overcome serious addiction, rise out of poverty, choose healthy relationships, and find mental and behavioral stability. The feeling of being understood and validated was so healing that it didn’t matter to me anymore if my family didn’t understand me because I knew that God understood me as well as my therapist. How best can I be supportive and recognized as Mental Health counsellor. As a therapist, my goal has been to enrich and fortify people’s self-knowledge that they can overcome difficulty. Home Terms of Service Privacy Policy Sitemap Subscribe to The GoodTherapy Blog. It took months of suffering to get a diagnosis and the proper treatment. Today, I want to serve others. Then, after having my second child, I suffered from postpartum depression and anxiety. (2016). Please fill out all required fields to submit your message. I have made it my mission to help my people see their own potential and believe in the power of themselves to make it happen. There are so many reasons why I love being a therapist, but if I could only choose five, this is what I would tell you… 5 Reasons Why I Love Being a Therapist. Then, I entered graduate school. All of you have such inspirational stories about why you do the things that you do and I love it. Mental Health Awareness Month is a meaningful time to reflect on why I wanted to become a psychologist and how that still rings true today. Join the Healthcare Professionals Network to receive regular emails and exclusive offers. However, it all changed one day when I had the most horrific headache I ever experienced in my young life. I could not understand why I could not get over the anger and other overwhelming feelings I had until I went into counseling. I am passionate about people I treat and their transformation from self-sabotage, unhealthy beliefs, self-doubt, and pessimism, to a space of clarity, self-esteem, confidence, and optimism with our work together. Following recent cuts there is only a handful of trained cognitive-behaviour therapists and even less psychologists spread incredibly thinly across these teams; in at least one of these teams you can’t get to see a therapist or psychologist at all – they don’t have the money to employ one. Questions or concerns about the preceding article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment below. I’ve had one too many of my own experiences where I needed help – like, really needed help – and I thought no one was there. It doesn’t work.” This is not an attitude that inspires confidence or encourages innovation. She would try to convince me that what we believe to conceive, we can achieve. I learned during that time in my life that I was none of those things, but rather an empty, love-desperate child pretending to be an adult who was complete. just because you at one time thought that it could be something I love it when you see people with such a gift for giving others meaning in their lives and I think that all of you probably do that and so much more. Having the opportunity to have an influential role in this process is exactly why I provide therapy. If you are a young person self-harming, hearing voices who is pretty traumatised by what life has thrown at you, and you want to have some therapy to help you through it, well, the good news is that you might have a chance of seeing me. They want us to “fix” lots of people as quickly and as cheaply as we can. The program I entered was strategically designed to cultivate integrity, strength, and wholeness. Meg May 27th, 2016 at 9:37 AM . It might take us a while to get there but eventually I know that all of my people with whom I work will one day look back and know that this has been a positive experience for them. The mental health teams cover a local population of 300,000 where I work – potentially a lot of people facing emotional issues. I truly do like helping people. This Mental Health Awareness Month, we reached out to our members and asked them to share, in their own words, what motivated or influenced them to work in mental health care. I maintained a 35-year headache-free life all due to how I changed my thinking, words, and actions as a tool to manifest my desired outcomes for my life. Permission to publish granted by. This year’s Guardian and Observer Christmas charity appeal theme is mental illness.