"What brings you here?" is the standard question posed to patients at the outset of their therapeutic journey. In A Curious Calling , this question is posed to therapists themselves. Applicants to psychotherapy training programs commonly state that they wish "to help people"--but this tells us very little. What are the unconscious factors underlying the decision to become a psychotherapist? Guilt, compassion, a sense of moral duty, a sense of power? Or a wish to be needed, or to enjoy vicariously the prospect of ...
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"What brings you here?" is the standard question posed to patients at the outset of their therapeutic journey. In A Curious Calling , this question is posed to therapists themselves. Applicants to psychotherapy training programs commonly state that they wish "to help people"--but this tells us very little. What are the unconscious factors underlying the decision to become a psychotherapist? Guilt, compassion, a sense of moral duty, a sense of power? Or a wish to be needed, or to enjoy vicariously the prospect of receiving aid and comfort? For each individual with a "need to help" there exists a unique constellation of underlying motives and aims. Without exploring and facing up to these hidden sources of motivation, therapists run the risk of exploiting patients for their own needs.
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