One of the most constant features of any profession is that it requires tremendous efforts to provide an appropriate amount of efficiency. Considering the profession of therapists with hard-work, knowledge and people-oriented skills a massive quantity of patience as well as compassion is required. The field of psychology is comparatively still new in its recognition and awareness regarding its need is gradually progressing. Due to the stigma attached to mental health in our society, it is evidently observed that the struggle to find decent jobs for psychologists with decent amounts of pay is still quite challenging. This is mainly because maximum people do not come to therapy because of the stigma that their mental health issues do not require assistance and will disappear on their own. Thus, the problem of low income of psychologists can be resolved by raising proper awareness regarding how the symptoms can impact patients in their day to day functions if not treated properly. It is necessary for the mass to realize the benefits of the therapy sessions. Another possible solution is increasing the mental health budget of the country to pay Mental Health Professionals what they deserve while serving the clients who require these services. The interesting point of this field is that there is no space for predictability and every case is unique and special. The coping ability and self-efficacy in the face of the ground realities are thus fostered with time. The pressure faced by therapists, especially at the beginning of their profession is also high and challenging as it is the intrinsic details of human psychological life at stake which requires cognitive skills and utter care.
Engaging with reluctant clients is another common challenge as it again calls out for special skills that make the client feel comfortable around their chief complaints. The task to make them gain acceptance and increase confidence is a skill that is not achieved without going through major setbacks. However, such cases can be managed by being more sensitive and attempting to understand the cause behind their resistance. This is also sometimes achieved through giving them their space and initiating conversation concerning general topics around which they are comfortable before jumping into their specific issues. This will help the reluctant clients to take their time, trust the therapist and be honest in their confessions. Maintaining appropriate boundaries is another vital element in a therapeutic setting and this is challenging with clients having dependent, depressive or antisocial personality patterns. The dependent clients usually want to hear, follow and excessively rely on advice where their self-growth, self-understanding and self-efficiency is hampered. The clients may also become extremely emotional by either exhibiting too much sadness beyond the therapeutic session or assaultive responses of aggressiveness towards the therapist. In such scenarios, it is difficult for the therapist to manage their immediate reactions by taking control of the overall situation. The therapists here provide psychoeducation to the clients to make them understand the importance of healthy interactions and boundaries in a session. This is carried out in a manner where they explain by elaborating the benefits of following ethics and the detriment of crossing the boundary. The therapists here require to be assertive without feeling guilty while setting boundaries and continue communicating whenever the limits set is being crossed. The role they play in maintaining this sort of boundary in order to bring stability to the environment also requires courage, patience and reasoning skills.
As therapy is a judgment-free zone, it is expected of them to be open-minded in all possible respects. However, an individual might have different beliefs, values, morals and ideas that time and again might clash with the client. All therapists from the beginning have an inbuilt quality of being culturally sensitive and embracing diversity with an open mind. They are also encouraged in their ongoing training to gain awareness continuously. The judgment from others concerning how therapists should be perfect with regard to controlling all human thoughts and emotions however is challenging. Due to a lack of understanding of the nature of counselling and therapy, people develop varying opinions and expectations of therapists which can sometimes become unreasonable. This challenge can be resolved by using thought reflection where one focuses on their own beliefs without allowing unreasonable feedback to alter their confidence. Therapists in such cases need to remind themselves of their previous achievements which act as proof that their efforts have brought progress to many clients. Along with this, therapists also can provide sufficient clarification to clients at every stage to address clients’ expectations regarding the same. One of the universal challenges present in all professions is burnout. With therapists, however, it is the emotional overwhelming as well as mental burnout that occurs in their life. The repetitive dealing of client distress along with documentation and follow up on their progress can be stressful. Self-care of therapists is absolutely necessary in order to grow in both their personal as well as professional life.
Taking notice of their own mental health is paramount for therapists. On the part of the client, there are a lot of confessions regarding descriptions of trauma, distant or abusive relationships and prolonged illness which can be a part of the therapist’s life too. In such cases, it sometimes triggers them which can stand as a challenge. This challenge is dealt with firstly, it is important to appropriately recognize that the response is absolutely normal. Secondly, staying calm and connected with oneself can also be helpful and thirdly, therapists need to focus on the momentary coping skills like visual orientation through which they can regain environmental awareness. In such circumstances, it requires all the more careful supervision in order to make the client practice techniques to restructure or rationally deal with their thoughts and memories. The struggle to come out of their own shell of worries to help others needs both critical thinkings as well as utmost empathy. Hence, therapists themselves need to engage in consistent therapy to address such concerns.
As we know, the human mind is prominently complex it is exceedingly demanding to observe the major and understand the minor details of one’s mental functionality. It requires special skills that are achieved through years of practice to help in the improvement of psychological health along with the emotional, social and occupational life of an individual. Therefore, dealing with an individual mind is a constant challenge that is managed by therapists in an artistic as well as impressive manner.
– Urveez Kakalia & Debanjana Banerjee.