Healing The Healers

Who listens to the listener? Who is in favour of one who spends his/her days on others? A therapist is considered to be an emotionally resilient person who leads people through trauma, anxiety, and personal challenges in our society. However, we pay little attention to an important question: what happens to therapists who need help themselves?

It is a myth that therapists must always be stable emotionally and mentally. It is wrongly believed that when a therapist turns to therapy, s/he is not competent to assist others. This is not only an unrealistic belief, but also a very damaging one. As any other person, mental health professionals also undergo personal hardships, stress, and even times of uncertainty. It's unreasonable to expect them not to be impacted by their workplaces, which only makes matters worse for the people whose occupation is already emotionally stressful.

Therapists are human beings before being professionals. They hear the stories of torture, loss, violence, and heartbreak continuously every day. Such experiences may cause emotional exhaustion, compassion fatigue and burnout. These relentless pressures may impact their personal life, as well as the quality of care they render to their clients. So, they must be adequately supported. 

Ironically, those people who assist others in getting through life problems are not taken much care of when it comes to their own mental health. There is still a stigma around mental health in most communities. Mental health professionals, too, can be judged or even criticised once they take therapy. The stereotypes about therapists are widespread, with some thinking that a therapist should be ideal and never need care. This is a basic misconception of mental health. 

A person involved in therapy is not a weak individual; rather, it means that s/he can assess themselves and are brave enough to seek help when they need it. To take help when needed is one of the most critical things all people should embrace, including those who spend their lives in service to other people.

Personal therapy and supervision at work are considered to be the key instruments of mental health practitioners. Therapy keeps therapists working through their feelings, discover their personal triggers, and observing professional boundaries. Under these circumstances, therapists work to ensure their own mental health is sound. This will make them more empathetic and self-aware, efficient workers. Like doctors who consult other doctors on medical-related issues, therapists also need professional assistance that helps them to proceed with their work and deliver quality therapy to their clients. 

Normalisation of therapists' therapy also has a wider societal parameter. The fact that mental health workers are not afraid to openly recognise the importance of seeking help challenges the stigma of therapy to all. Mental health matters, and asking for help is positive and natural. Only when this happens can society truly adopt a well-being approach in which everyone, including healing professionals, is free to focus on their own mental health.

If we desire a society that upholds mental health, we must accept the fact that none is immune to emotional obstacles. A therapist is not a machine; rather, he/she is a human being with emotions, boundaries, and needs. Making them pursue therapy is not only a step in the right direction toward healthier professionals but also a step toward a more understanding and empathetic society.