I appreciate you bringing up the money aspects. I have often felt the same way about the ubiquitousness of “just do therapy, bro”. That it’s just another sad aspect of late stage capitalism. It’s my understanding there’s not nearly enough providers to go around, yet the aggressive marketing continues. Because of course it does.
I don’t know if this is true or if it’s just a trope. But I’ve also heard that the field attracts people who usually need help themselves. Not that all therapists are “broken”…but that there’s a percentage who are. So on top of finding an available one at all, you hope you land a good one. Hopefully that’s just a BS stereotype.
It’s not even the "needs help themselves aspect. That screws them, they say most psych nurses are crazy too, it’s whether they’ve done the work on it, and I think you’d find similar levels of low competence from somebody who just didn’t pay enough attention in school (AND they wouldn’t have the life experience to know what they’re talking about).
The other thing you mentioned: not having close friends and non-professional relationships. I think that’s very true. A lot of people are isolated these days. And many friends will keep you at arm’s length. They are happy to hang out. But if you start to open up too much, they will start to avoid you. Anything that smells remotely “clingy” is a big no-no. They’d rather look at screens than engage in real talk.
I appreciate you bringing up the money aspects. I have often felt the same way about the ubiquitousness of “just do therapy, bro”. That it’s just another sad aspect of late stage capitalism. It’s my understanding there’s not nearly enough providers to go around, yet the aggressive marketing continues. Because of course it does.
I don’t know if this is true or if it’s just a trope. But I’ve also heard that the field attracts people who usually need help themselves. Not that all therapists are “broken”…but that there’s a percentage who are. So on top of finding an available one at all, you hope you land a good one. Hopefully that’s just a BS stereotype.
It’s not even the "needs help themselves aspect. That screws them, they say most psych nurses are crazy too, it’s whether they’ve done the work on it, and I think you’d find similar levels of low competence from somebody who just didn’t pay enough attention in school (AND they wouldn’t have the life experience to know what they’re talking about).
The other thing you mentioned: not having close friends and non-professional relationships. I think that’s very true. A lot of people are isolated these days. And many friends will keep you at arm’s length. They are happy to hang out. But if you start to open up too much, they will start to avoid you. Anything that smells remotely “clingy” is a big no-no. They’d rather look at screens than engage in real talk.