I knew I wanted to be a therapist I think around the same age (I was in 9th grade) people ALWAYS told me I was a good listener and I had a close friend at the time having suicidal thoughts and I remember talking to her a lot which thankfully she did not proceed with her plan and it was then she recommended for me to be a therapist and ever since then I knew it was what I wanted to be. I grabbed as many books as I could on psychology and fell more in love with how the mind works. Till this day never once have I questioned if this is the field for me, I love being a therapist, it can be tiring but soo rewarding when you see your clients progress! Love this video!
Love this story! It's good that your first experience with such a bad therapist didn't make you hate therapy instead! I am a therapist and I had bad experiences with therapists too :D
Another therapist friend of mine said our profession is full of ‘Wounded Healers’. I can resonate with your story too and thank you for being so vulnerable in this video and amazing boundary making too. 🥰🤗 And yes ‘Saviour Complex’. That will be an interesting video to listen too. Meanwhile, I wish you well on your maternity leave.
I’m a grad student pursuing my masters in Clinical Psychology, MFT, and have wanted to do this for such a long time. I put it off for too long because I felt compelled to stick with my current career path. I have been in therapy for personal tea for a while and believe in it so much that I want to be able to help people in the same way that my therapists have helped me. As I navigate through my program, I find myself experiencing so much emotion. I know in my soul it is the right path for me to take now. Wishing everyone the very best on their own journey.
Thank you for the vulnerability and bravery needed to share your story. Mine choice to be a therapist also started with the search for healing as well as using the coping strategies forged in a dysfunctional family of origin that over time became finely honed skills: being an HSP, excellent listener, reading the room/people, being empathic, etc. These are now my superpowers.
Thank you, Dr. Marie Fang for sharing your journey to becoming a mental health therapist :) Mine’s started at 19 years old, when I began working as a front desk receptionist at an outpatient community mental health clinic. I am now 24 years old, a behavioral health case manager, one year away from completing my undergrad in psychology, and applying to PsyD programs this fall :) Basically, what drew me into this field, was real exposure in a counseling setting and working with awesome master level therapists who role modeled what a good therapist is :)
Really appreciate hearing your story! I knew by early high school that I wanted to be a therapist. It always felt like the right path given my history and my personality 😁
I loved hearing your story. Thank you for sharing! You're so right- the roads that lead us into therapy may be very different but each one is marked with ups and downs. I also had a negative experience with a therapist early on that turned me off to the idea of therapy. Many years later, that experience now serves as a reminder to me of what NOT to do! I'm thankful to be in a profession that prioritizes human growth and change, including my own. And as for the Savior complex, PREACH DR. FANG! It's too real. Funny enough, I now think that the clinical and ethical boundaries around therapy actually help me operate without that Savior mentality. Hooray for healthy boundaries!
Thank you for sharing your story!!! I really appreciate your honesty and willingness to be vulnerable. You are an amazing self advocate and now you advocate for others. I am really sorry you went through the creepy therapist experience. I became a therapist because of a very positive experience with a therapist. You are very impressive on many levels. Thank you for sharing your gifts and talents with us!!
This was really interesting. I can definitely relate to thinking 'I can do better than this person'. It's tragic how many bad therapists are out there :/ I had the idea in my head at an early age that I wanted to be a therapist, I think because my best friend and I kind of formed our bond through sharing our stories of struggle and trauma, and we came to know each other so deeply that I think I couldn't help but want more of those DEEP conversations in my life. But as a teen, I sort of 'ruled out' actually becoming a therapist because I realized it would mean getting to know lots of people...only to have to say goodbye and never see them again. I couldn't bear the thought of that. It wasn't until just a few years ago that I realized my inability to cope with loss and grief isn't normal or healthy, and that I really needed help overcoming some serious trauma. I figured well, if I'm going to work on overcoming the one thing that's stopping me from wanting to be a therapist ANYWAY, I guess I might as well become a therapist. LOL. My reasons have evolved over time, just like yours, and these days I mostly want to become a therapist because I think too few therapists (around here, anyway) understand attachment trauma and chronic shame, and I want to be someone who DOES understand those things and can effectively treat them. I have a long way to go in my own therapy before I can actually handle the job, I know that, but it's a huge driving force for me on those days when it feels like this is just the way that I am and it's never going to change.
Thank you for your story, that was very encouraging! I feel the same way… seen some bad counselors makes you want to become a good one. I would like to take classes online. I hope to find a good place to study.
Fellow celiac with a late diagnosis and our stories of panic and fear around pain, food, restaurants, public outings are almost identical! Thanks for sharing!
As a kid therapist, it was so helpful to hear about your experience with physical pain and how it morphed into different anxiety responses. Super creepy therapist and makes me wonder how harmful his behaviour was - hopefully not practicing anymore. That's great that you were assertive enough to not continue. Thanks so much as always!
There must be something significant about age 14. That was the age I also self diagnosed as “clinically depressed.” We are talking early 90s btw. My first therapist was a psychiatrist and like you it was a negative experience male, older. I felt very uncomfortable. It wasn’t until I was taken to see a woman who was only temporarily there due to her internship working at a private practice. She changed my life through a handful of sessions. One issue I was having was with self esteem. I didn’t know how to ask boys at school dances to dance with me. She basically told me to just ask. It worked. Thats when I understood the power of therapy.
Thank you for sharing your story. As a teenager I initially wanted to be a psychologist because my mom eldest sister was diagnosed with schizophrenia and then as time went on paying attention to my mother's mental health of going to therapist and not appearing to get better all the while talking about her diagnosis of bipolar or her having episodes where she would lock herself in the room and my older brother would take care of me and my mother would say she felt like Sybil from the movie. Well then hormones kicked in and I kind of put that goal on the side and realize I'll be in school forever trying to be a therapist. But funny how life plays tricks on you and takes you in the circle and you start right where you left off with wanting to be a therapist. So I've been married four times my second husband was a recovering alcoholic and heroin addict and he became ill while being very active in recovery and going to recovery conventions, and teaching our children about how to live a life of recovery. When he became hell he requested divorce and said I deserve better because he didn't know when his health was going to improve and that is what put the idea in my mind to go back to school but did not know how to do at this time being a mother of five living children; we lost one to miscarriage and at this time my second child has been kidnapped by her father my first husband and have been gone for quite some time. Then years later I injured myself on the job and it will take some time for workers comp to approve my surgery and so the Ohio Department of Family Services and workers compensation sent me a letter stating I qualified to return to school. So I returned to school to complete an associate's degree and Human Services as an honor student, walk across the stage with my kidnapped daughter back with the family and having brought into the world a 6th child and with one grandchild I walked across the stage two months after my 40th birthday prepared to start my career as an addictions counselor, 2 years after that obtained my bachelor's, and in May 2021 I graduated with my master's degree of Addiction Counseling with co-occurring disorders as I am actively encouraging client the benefit of working on their mental health including anxiety a topic that I know all too well because of my own, PTSD because I know it all too well because of my own and bereavement of a life of a situation of a job. That is my story as to why I became a therapist and now I am preparing to test for my old PC for mental-health and I just became independently license for chemical dependency Counseling of addiction. Thank you for allowing us to share our story I know mine was sleeping but someone could really benefit from knowing my story just like we benefited from knowing your story.
Thank you for sharing, and best wishes with delivery of baby #2! I’ve appreciated your perspective on so many topics and would be especially interested in a video on the savior complex. This is a phenomenon I’m observing in my grad program, and it seems like nobody wants to talk about it in a real way.
Hi Dr. Fang, I love love love all your vids, I'm a nurse turned hypnotherapist. Oddly enough I wanted to be a "counselor" as a teen because everyone could talk to me easily, they told me I was a good listener and gave good advice. Long story of my own childhood traumas and nursing not being a great fit, added to the anxiety and physical issues. I took a holistic health course and found Hypnotherapy. :) Thank you for sharing your story and for all you do for all of us
I was 18 when I realized I wanted to pursue counseling/therapy as a career option. I had battled with my mental health all throughout high-school and had no clue what I would do in the future. My freshmen year of college I took a general psych class and loved it. I then decided to expose myself more to the mental health field and got a job at a local drug and alcohol rehab center. 3 years into my job and being close to starting grad school for counseling, I can't imagine doing anything else now. 😁
I'd love to know your thoughts about the saviour complex! I'm in grad school because I'm an autistic woman and basically had to be my own therapist all my life. It grew into an interest. I want to work w other autistic women because basically no mental health workers have a more than basic understanding of autism, let alone in women. But I want to save everyone! I also don't know if I'll be good in practice or if I should stick to research
I was also young when the decision on was made to study psychology. I was about 15 yo at the time. In high school, other students would come to me with person issues and wanting guidance., When I went to college, I choose psychology.
OOOOOH Please talk about the savior complex within the therapy field. I'm a clinician and working to open a private practice in the near future. I too had some very negative experiences with therapy growing up and definitely wanted to provide people with better and more compassionate care. I also know that coming from my family of origin and learning SO SO SO much more about the therapy profession and mental health, trauma, attachment, and the list goes on and on, that I had some people pleasing and savior complex issues. I also love that vulnerability and transparency is becoming more welcome and discussed in this field because you are 100% correct, I don't believe people just come into this field without experiencing some...SCHTUFF...so how to we manage it, heal from it, and set it aside while we meet with clients. Thank you so much for your videos! You have helped me so much in prepping for private practice...like...a lot. you're wonderful!
Similarly, I've never had a therapist or counselor actually help me even though I've seen several. It's always been the "alternative" therapies that helped me, a few of which I am already trained in and use with clients. But I want to be a licensed therapist so I can help more people and advance my career. Lots of people only have access to licensed therapists, for example through insurance or community health programs. I want to be support people in that way even though (and perhaps because) I wasn't supported in that way.
I just want to echo that "so angered by the injustice I saw happening and wasn't able to articulate that at that time". Similar terrible experience at age 14 and on my way to be a therapist ;)
There’s so little oversight in therapy. It really is so dependent on their training, knowledge, ethics and integrity. And clients with boundary and mental health issues. It can be dangerous.
It is unfortunate that your experience was negative with the psychologist and that he did not recognize that your were not comfortable with him touching you, nor was it appropriate. Seeing a psychologist or counselor should be a safe environment for both children and adults seeking help.
I knew I wanted to be a therapist I think around the same age (I was in 9th grade) people ALWAYS told me I was a good listener and I had a close friend at the time having suicidal thoughts and I remember talking to her a lot which thankfully she did not proceed with her plan and it was then she recommended for me to be a therapist and ever since then I knew it was what I wanted to be. I grabbed as many books as I could on psychology and fell more in love with how the mind works. Till this day never once have I questioned if this is the field for me, I love being a therapist, it can be tiring but soo rewarding when you see your clients progress! Love this video!
Love this story! It's good that your first experience with such a bad therapist didn't make you hate therapy instead! I am a therapist and I had bad experiences with therapists too :D
Another therapist friend of mine said our profession is full of ‘Wounded Healers’. I can resonate with your story too and thank you for being so vulnerable in this video and amazing boundary making too. 🥰🤗 And yes ‘Saviour Complex’. That will be an interesting video to listen too. Meanwhile, I wish you well on your maternity leave.
I’m a grad student pursuing my masters in Clinical Psychology, MFT, and have wanted to do this for such a long time. I put it off for too long because I felt compelled to stick with my current career path. I have been in therapy for personal tea for a while and believe in it so much that I want to be able to help people in the same way that my therapists have helped me. As I navigate through my program, I find myself experiencing so much emotion. I know in my soul it is the right path for me to take now. Wishing everyone the very best on their own journey.
Thank you for the vulnerability and bravery needed to share your story. Mine choice to be a therapist also started with the search for healing as well as using the coping strategies forged in a dysfunctional family of origin that over time became finely honed skills: being an HSP, excellent listener, reading the room/people, being empathic, etc. These are now my superpowers.
Thank you, Dr. Marie Fang for sharing your journey to becoming a mental health therapist :) Mine’s started at 19 years old, when I began working as a front desk receptionist at an outpatient community mental health clinic. I am now 24 years old, a behavioral health case manager, one year away from completing my undergrad in psychology, and applying to PsyD programs this fall :) Basically, what drew me into this field, was real exposure in a counseling setting and working with awesome master level therapists who role modeled what a good therapist is :)
Same here! I read Please Understand Me when I was 15 and that sealed the deal 😊
Really appreciate hearing your story! I knew by early high school that I wanted to be a therapist. It always felt like the right path given my history and my personality 😁
Hearing this has helped me realize that I can be a counsellor. Thank you
Very inspiring story doctor. God bless you and your family
I loved hearing your story. Thank you for sharing! You're so right- the roads that lead us into therapy may be very different but each one is marked with ups and downs. I also had a negative experience with a therapist early on that turned me off to the idea of therapy. Many years later, that experience now serves as a reminder to me of what NOT to do! I'm thankful to be in a profession that prioritizes human growth and change, including my own. And as for the Savior complex, PREACH DR. FANG! It's too real. Funny enough, I now think that the clinical and ethical boundaries around therapy actually help me operate without that Savior mentality. Hooray for healthy boundaries!
Thank you for sharing your story!!! I really appreciate your honesty and willingness to be vulnerable. You are an amazing self advocate and now you advocate for others. I am really sorry you went through the creepy therapist experience. I became a therapist because of a very positive experience with a therapist. You are very impressive on many levels. Thank you for sharing your gifts and talents with us!!
This was really interesting. I can definitely relate to thinking 'I can do better than this person'. It's tragic how many bad therapists are out there :/
I had the idea in my head at an early age that I wanted to be a therapist, I think because my best friend and I kind of formed our bond through sharing our stories of struggle and trauma, and we came to know each other so deeply that I think I couldn't help but want more of those DEEP conversations in my life. But as a teen, I sort of 'ruled out' actually becoming a therapist because I realized it would mean getting to know lots of people...only to have to say goodbye and never see them again. I couldn't bear the thought of that. It wasn't until just a few years ago that I realized my inability to cope with loss and grief isn't normal or healthy, and that I really needed help overcoming some serious trauma. I figured well, if I'm going to work on overcoming the one thing that's stopping me from wanting to be a therapist ANYWAY, I guess I might as well become a therapist. LOL. My reasons have evolved over time, just like yours, and these days I mostly want to become a therapist because I think too few therapists (around here, anyway) understand attachment trauma and chronic shame, and I want to be someone who DOES understand those things and can effectively treat them. I have a long way to go in my own therapy before I can actually handle the job, I know that, but it's a huge driving force for me on those days when it feels like this is just the way that I am and it's never going to change.
what an awesome story. i love that you told it. telling our story is so life changing, transformative Marie! i love this. thank you for telling it.
Wow Marie. You are so amazing, inspiring, and genuine. Thank you so much for sharing this.
I am so glad to have found your channel! I hope to start a private practice next year. I look forward to learning more from you. :)
Thank you for your story, that was very encouraging! I feel the same way… seen some bad counselors makes you want to become a good one. I would like to take classes online. I hope to find a good place to study.
Fellow celiac with a late diagnosis and our stories of panic and fear around pain, food, restaurants, public outings are almost identical! Thanks for sharing!
I love this story, pretty amazing for a kid to take such an active role in their own healing ♥️
Really appreciate you taking the time to do this channel and for sharing your personal story. Always insightful.
As a kid therapist, it was so helpful to hear about your experience with physical pain and how it morphed into different anxiety responses. Super creepy therapist and makes me wonder how harmful his behaviour was - hopefully not practicing anymore. That's great that you were assertive enough to not continue. Thanks so much as always!
I knew in middle school that I wanted to go into the mental health field 👏🏼☺️
There must be something significant about age 14. That was the age I also self diagnosed as “clinically depressed.” We are talking early 90s btw. My first therapist was a psychiatrist and like you it was a negative experience male, older. I felt very uncomfortable. It wasn’t until I was taken to see a woman who was only temporarily there due to her internship working at a private practice. She changed my life through a handful of sessions. One issue I was having was with self esteem. I didn’t know how to ask boys at school dances to dance with me. She basically told me to just ask. It worked. Thats when I understood the power of therapy.
Thank you for sharing your story. As a teenager I initially wanted to be a psychologist because my mom eldest sister was diagnosed with schizophrenia and then as time went on paying attention to my mother's mental health of going to therapist and not appearing to get better all the while talking about her diagnosis of bipolar or her having episodes where she would lock herself in the room and my older brother would take care of me and my mother would say she felt like Sybil from the movie. Well then hormones kicked in and I kind of put that goal on the side and realize I'll be in school forever trying to be a therapist. But funny how life plays tricks on you and takes you in the circle and you start right where you left off with wanting to be a therapist. So I've been married four times my second husband was a recovering alcoholic and heroin addict and he became ill while being very active in recovery and going to recovery conventions, and teaching our children about how to live a life of recovery. When he became hell he requested divorce and said I deserve better because he didn't know when his health was going to improve and that is what put the idea in my mind to go back to school but did not know how to do at this time being a mother of five living children; we lost one to miscarriage and at this time my second child has been kidnapped by her father my first husband and have been gone for quite some time. Then years later I injured myself on the job and it will take some time for workers comp to approve my surgery and so the Ohio Department of Family Services and workers compensation sent me a letter stating I qualified to return to school. So I returned to school to complete an associate's degree and Human Services as an honor student, walk across the stage with my kidnapped daughter back with the family and having brought into the world a 6th child and with one grandchild I walked across the stage two months after my 40th birthday prepared to start my career as an addictions counselor, 2 years after that obtained my bachelor's, and in May 2021 I graduated with my master's degree of Addiction Counseling with co-occurring disorders as I am actively encouraging client the benefit of working on their mental health including anxiety a topic that I know all too well because of my own, PTSD because I know it all too well because of my own and bereavement of a life of a situation of a job. That is my story as to why I became a therapist and now I am preparing to test for my old PC for mental-health and I just became independently license for chemical dependency Counseling of addiction. Thank you for allowing us to share our story I know mine was sleeping but someone could really benefit from knowing my story just like we benefited from knowing your story.
Thank you for sharing, and best wishes with delivery of baby #2! I’ve appreciated your perspective on so many topics and would be especially interested in a video on the savior complex. This is a phenomenon I’m observing in my grad program, and it seems like nobody wants to talk about it in a real way.
Hi Dr. Fang, I love love love all your vids, I'm a nurse turned hypnotherapist. Oddly enough I wanted to be a "counselor" as a teen because everyone could talk to me easily, they told me I was a good listener and gave good advice. Long story of my own childhood traumas and nursing not being a great fit, added to the anxiety and physical issues. I took a holistic health course and found Hypnotherapy. :) Thank you for sharing your story and for all you do for all of us
I was 18 when I realized I wanted to pursue counseling/therapy as a career option. I had battled with my mental health all throughout high-school and had no clue what I would do in the future. My freshmen year of college I took a general psych class and loved it. I then decided to expose myself more to the mental health field and got a job at a local drug and alcohol rehab center. 3 years into my job and being close to starting grad school for counseling, I can't imagine doing anything else now. 😁
You're an inspiration!! And congratulations momma!!
I'd love to know your thoughts about the saviour complex! I'm in grad school because I'm an autistic woman and basically had to be my own therapist all my life. It grew into an interest. I want to work w other autistic women because basically no mental health workers have a more than basic understanding of autism, let alone in women. But I want to save everyone! I also don't know if I'll be good in practice or if I should stick to research
I had this exact same experience. Went gluten free around 13 years old and it helped. Still have some disordered eating tho
I was also young when the decision on was made to study psychology. I was about 15 yo at the time. In high school, other students would come to me with person issues and wanting guidance., When I went to college, I choose psychology.
OOOOOH Please talk about the savior complex within the therapy field. I'm a clinician and working to open a private practice in the near future. I too had some very negative experiences with therapy growing up and definitely wanted to provide people with better and more compassionate care. I also know that coming from my family of origin and learning SO SO SO much more about the therapy profession and mental health, trauma, attachment, and the list goes on and on, that I had some people pleasing and savior complex issues. I also love that vulnerability and transparency is becoming more welcome and discussed in this field because you are 100% correct, I don't believe people just come into this field without experiencing some...SCHTUFF...so how to we manage it, heal from it, and set it aside while we meet with clients. Thank you so much for your videos! You have helped me so much in prepping for private practice...like...a lot. you're wonderful!
Thanks for sharing, it is helpful
Thank you for sharing your story.
Similarly, I've never had a therapist or counselor actually help me even though I've seen several. It's always been the "alternative" therapies that helped me, a few of which I am already trained in and use with clients. But I want to be a licensed therapist so I can help more people and advance my career. Lots of people only have access to licensed therapists, for example through insurance or community health programs. I want to be support people in that way even though (and perhaps because) I wasn't supported in that way.
OMG what a journey... I can relate to having invalidating & terrible therapists/Counsellers & being prompted to find your own way
I just want to echo that "so angered by the injustice I saw happening and wasn't able to articulate that at that time". Similar terrible experience at age 14 and on my way to be a therapist ;)
Thanks 🙏
Awesome👏
I was 18
There’s so little oversight in therapy. It really is so dependent on their training, knowledge, ethics and integrity. And clients with boundary and mental health issues. It can be dangerous.
It is unfortunate that your experience was negative with the psychologist and that he did not recognize that your were not comfortable with him touching you, nor was it appropriate. Seeing a psychologist or counselor should be a safe environment for both children and adults seeking help.
I knew at the age of 16.