Esther Lapite
What would you consider to be the hardest/worst day on the job as a licensed clinical psychologist? And would you say that even after a day like that that the profession would still be worth it?
Although this is my dream career, I'm starting to have some doubts if I'm capable of it or if I should seek another career in the psychological field. I want to be able to learn and prepare for the worst and see if its something I was born to overcome and surpass. #isitworthit #clinicalpsychologist #baddays #worstdays #hardestday
2 answers
Brock L. Fowler, Psy.D.
Brock L.’s Answer
There are multiple layers of complexity that the Psychologist can undergo from areas of personal pain and loss, professional scrutiny, legal issues that can include Licensure continuation matters with one’s State Licensing Board, malpractice claims, types of lawsuits that may be claimed by surviving family members, etcetera are some of the most common and prominent matters that arise with the suicide death of a patient. A Psychologist typically finds themselves experiencing the loss of patient from several sides in their mind such as the loss of both their patient as an individual that they know, the loss of them as a human being in the World, possibly knowing the residual negative ripple effects it will have with the patient’s surviving family members and members in their social circle such as friends and coworkers etcetera, and as a Psychologist the struggle and recognition of their patient being in severe mental and emotional pain at the time of committing the act and thinking about how helpless and alone they may have felt in their final moments? Psychologist are geared to continuously assess and monitor for suicidality eith every patient and even when it is an open and identified area of treatment that the Psychologist works with the client on, and developed coping strategies and provide additional support and resources surrounding this issue, and the patient may even be showing signs of improvement or reports the crises have been resolved and they can still suddenly commit suicide. Thus Psychologists are geared initially to wonder “why they did it”, “what was I missing”, “how could I have prevented it”, “why didn’t they ask for the help or use the resources” and the difficulty sometimes even after performing a Psychological Post Mortem Autopsy and Evaluation, we still have no concrete answers and can be left to struggle with this issues. Psychologists also need and utilize both their support systems and colleagues for processing these matters, doing positive self care and can also have their own Psychologists or Mental Health Professionals to work through these matters when such a tragic loss occurs. This is one of the the most difficult parts of working in the field. There are a few other professional struggles that can arise while doing this special and very interpersonal emotionally charged work; however I have provided a detailed understanding of what is / can be the most common and most difficult professional issue. Ideally this provides significant feedback for those considering a career in the Mental Health field, especially in the role of being a Psychologist.
Christina Montsma, MACP
Christina’s Answer
The hardest/worst day will likely be a little different for everyone, but in general every psychological professional will have "tough" days that are emotionally draining. It is easy to discount the emotional aspect as our culture tends to focus on what can be seen (like physical pains and headaches) but yet emotional drain is the largest reason professionals experience "burn out" and need to step away for awhile or switch careers entirely. These days could look like a client/patient coming close to or actually completing suicide or a patient who you have been working with for some time that has made a lot of progress, suddenly backtrack. It might even be a day where every patient you see is angry with you and blames you for their distress. All of these are emotionally taxing as you constantly try to separate what the client is bringing to you out of their own experiences (i.e. "transference") vs what experiences and biases you originate and bring to the client (i.e. "countertransference").
It's important to remember that most psychologists with private practices who have even been in the field for 10 or 20 years, do not see clients for 40 hours/week. The top-average is 20 hours/week of actual 1 hour client sessions. When finishing my program, it was recommended to start out with 10 hours/week as we got accustomed to how the emotional taxation felt to us individually. This usually means working a second part-time job when starting out.
Most importantly, I would not look at tough days as something that any person is born to overcome. I would recommend focusing instead on what comes easiest and most natural to you. What do you do that doesn't feel like you really did much yet people are saying what a huge help you were to them? This is where our natural gifts are often hidden. Every single person in every single profession has tough days. It's not about learning how to overcome them - it's about reminding yourself that you are great at what you do and really feeling secure in that. Even when we make mistakes!
Christina recommends the following next steps: