Occupational Hazards of Counseling

When I was looking at graduate schools, I went to Vanderbilt for a prospective students’ event. At one point we got to ask questions of the students currently in our intended programs, and something one of the grad students said has stayed with me.

“If you want to be a counselor, chances are you’re already the person who everyone goes to for advice. You’re genuinely interested in what’s going on with people, you have a lot of empathy, and you probably have any number of friends who take more than they give. And here’s something that will surprise you: when you’re studying to be a counselor, not only will you learn how to help your clients with their relationships, but you’ll learn all over again how to be a friend yourself. Because you can’t keep doing what you’ve been doing. You can’t go to work and get dumped on all day, every day, and then come home and get dumped on by your friends and family. You owe it to yourself to be careful and intentional in your personal relationships, investing in friends who will care for you equally as well as you support them. Otherwise counseling will prove a very miserable profession for you.”

As I get closer to starting my program, I’m becoming more and more nervous about the sheer volume of emotion that will surround me and become my problem every day. I’m praying that I’ll focus on the progress and not get slammed by the sadness and dysfunction. Or better yet, focus on the funny.