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Analysis Of Kottler's On Being A Therapist

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Within Chapter 9 of On Being a Therapist, Kottler (2010) discusses several taboo aspects of this profession. After reading this chapter, I felt a bit of relief knowing that another counseling professional exposed the unsaid experiences therapists experience in this profession.
From the outside looking in, it often seems as though therapists are portrayed as perfect individuals, providing imperfect individuals guidance on how to improve. This chapter completely rejects this assumption, and instead points out that therapists are human beings that make mistakes, are judgmental, and experience similar problems that their clients also experience. Unfortunately, I think the majority of therapists try and shield their problems from
others, …show more content…

When working with clients, I think the majority of clients assume their counselor’s always have the best treatment recommendations in mind when working with them. However, I agree with Kottler (2010) that the majority of therapists are often guessing when trying to conceptualize their clients. I think it is important for clients to be aware of the fact that therapist’s training does not mean they have the resolution to every client’s presenting problems.
Instead, I believe therapists are never certain about the cause of client’s problems, and simply do their best to try and help their clients improve. When helping clients improve, I think it is important for counselors to keep in mind that not all client’s get better. More specifically, some clients emotionality, mental state, and functionality will stay the same or get worse. On the other hand, there are clients that get better and improve. However, I believe it can be difficult for therapists to determine whether or not their efforts actually helped their clients, as it is extremely difficult to pin point the exact cause of a client’s improvements. In addition to the many other topics therapists do not discuss and keep to themselves, …show more content…

Therefore, I think therapists and clients need to keep in mind that therapists are human beings, and have some of the same natural reactions to bizarre behaviors, statements, or incidents as any other human being would. In addition, I believe therapists need to be honest with themselves about how client’s behaviors, presenting problems, and/or statements affect them. I think doing so will help therapists become more aware of their limitations when working with clients. The majority of therapists that enter the counseling profession, usually do so because they have an interest in helping others. However, I think it is important to remember the possibility that some therapists go into this profession to help themselves and not others. More specifically, some therapists go into this profession to inadvertently work on their problems through their clients. I think this can be extremely detrimental to clients, specifically because the therapist has their own agenda in mind. I do not think there is any way to prevent therapists from taking advantage of this profession. However, I believe peers should confront their colleagues

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