The Crazy Therapist

Ever wonder why therapists have a reputation for being bat crap crazy, messed up or otherwise dysfunctional?  As a (questionably “crazy”) therapist myself, I can answer that. 

Therapists frequently became therapists because of some sort of childhood trauma, family of origin dysfunction, or other unpleasant human experience.  Our pain, our need to understand (and maybe even “cure”) ourselves and/or those who have hurt us, leads us into the profession. 

Sometimes, these hurting people who enter into the helping profession have not adequately addressed their own issues.  This can cause some countertransference, projection from the therapist onto the client, and/or a host of other unhelpful (or sometimes, unfortunately, hurtful) interactions.

Conversely, the therapist could have actually worked through his or her own junk, found healing, and gained confidence in his or her abilities and techniques, thereby using more bold and creative methods of helping each family or individual to achieve treatment goals.  These “outside the box” methods may appear, on the surface, as weird, unconventional, or even “crazy.”  But, when done right, they work.

So, which kind of “crazy” is your therapist?

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