Psych Major

Lets add those too!

They also have baggage!

It is common knowledge among therapists that they themselves are messed up. I cannot think of any fellow past student or a therapist in practice I know that would deny that. The very best therapists are those who admit it and have processed it. They then turn their journey's into a road map to help others.

Concerning all the other persons you mentioned, we could go down the line and point out why they are probably messed up. I know folks in each one of those professions and I can say they do have major issues propelling them or dragging them in life.

Both Neuwen and Jung wrote about this arena. You can do a search with their names and find more.

I've seen several books in the psychology sections of book stores that deal with this very issue you mention. Sorry but I cannot find the titles at this time. It is also common practice for counseling students to get counseling in order to graduate. The problem is that this is too brief and sometimes you have extremely incompetent counselors. I can say that all my fellow masters level students that were with me (I include myself) are/were dysfunctional and most had major unresolved issues. We had practice sessions with each other and it was often that I would try to go to a 'dark' place with them and they would quickly get out and metaphorically 'leave.' Prior to studying my Masters I have practiced as a pastoral counselor for over 25 years. I can say that my congregants and my fellow ministers were all highly dysfunctional but were adaptive enough to look good in society and function with a level of 'normality.' I've seen ministers who chose to heal and then tried to help their congregations to heal only to be thrown out into the trash heap of wasted ministers and abused pastors. You should read "Children of the Lie" by Scott Peck. It is a real eye opener about evil people in the church.
I happen to agree with Dr. Peck.

 

A mentally ill psychologist would make a great wounded healer.

 

a mentally ill psychologist COULD make a wonderful healer. On the other hand they could be totally dysfunctional and mess up a lot of people.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0679763309?tag=theguidetosel-20&link_code=as3&creativeASIN=0679763309&creative=373489&camp=211189

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/18/us/psychiatrist-in-sex-abuse-case-offers-her-license.html?sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=all

 

How on earth did this 6 year old thread get revived?

 

lol, twice now i have been in psych classes which had An Unquiet Mind as a reading requirement. It's about a UCLA professor/mental hospital researcher with her own schitzophrenia and other's reactions to it.

http://www.amazon.com/Unquiet-Mind-Memoir-Moods-Madness/dp/0679763309

 

Thanks! I'll pass this one on to a new friend of mine.

 

I did it. I was really looking for a somewhat more recent (but still old) Simon thread in which he posted a poll as to whether the mentally ill should be allowed to be mental health professionals. I have been up-front and honest with the good people at degreeinfo about my own 21-year struggle with manic-depression and I am in support of the rights of the mentally ill, including their right to get any legal form of employment, provided they can get the requisite degrees, certifications, etc. I've also been trying to find someone who can advise me on a bibliography for the wounded healer philosophy for a new friend that I met in my most recent hospital stay. She said she would be joining here as Wounded Healer when she leaves hospital.

 

1. I agree that Wounded Healers can be Wonderful Counsellors.

2. On the story about a mentally ill mental health professional who got caught sexually abusing patients, lots of supposedly sane shrinks do the same.

 

You need to be more precise. The world of psychology/psychiatry long ago dispensed with the term "sane" (or sanity or insanity). It doesn't really mean anything. Also, even when it was a term employed in the field of psychology it had a different meaning than the legal definition of sanity.

It would not be difficult to make the case that a "sane" person would never abuse another person, sexually or otherwise.