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Most people I know who are career-passionate about physical health are that passionate because they've been struggling with health problems their whole lives. I'm starting to think the same thing is going on with mental health professionals.

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Yeah, definitely. I used to think people who were mental health professionals were sort of in the role as "teacher," where that means you know how to execute the task really well and show others how to do it too. But no, you don't have to be mentally healthy to be a therapist.

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Which sort of makes me trust them less? Like how can I trust someone else to help solve me if they don't even know how to solve themselves, who they've presumably spent waaay more time on.

9:45 PM · Sep 17, 2019

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José Luis Ricón Fernández de la Puente

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There is some research into this I vaguely remember, psychologists are more neurotic than the rest of the population, wouldn't surprise me if a high interest in mental health comes from poor mental health

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At least, in best case they know what they are talking about.

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How to trust someone who has no idea about your kind of thinking.

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Ideally a therapist is someone you can trust to put their own bs aside to help you see in your own blind spot. You definitely won't find one that's "perfect." Solved implies a completed state. Untenable with dynamic unfoldment. Successfully navigated issues you are focused on?

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To be fair, I’d trust therapists who understand mental suffering far more than a “healthy” therapist. Some psychological issues can’t be talked out of or medicated, but sharing stories with one who knows what it’s like can help ease the burden.

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Hmmm, this is a bit of a conundrum. On the one hand you raise a perfectly valid, and perhaps obvious, point. On the other hand I’d never want to take coaching advice from someone who hasn’t really played the game. The ideal is one who has overcome their own challenges.

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Many times there is no way to fix anything. Like diabetes, for example, you learn to work with and around it, and finally, live with the issue. As a result, they are the experts.

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Makes no sense. See that mechanic, working on that car? He got interested in the field when he fixed his car as a teen. He’s still works on his own car, too. “Oh no! If he still works on his own car, I better not trust him to fix mine.”

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People who never had problems to begin with are less likely to know how to fix them - they never had to figure out any solutions, or even partial ones.