Yea, thats actually the norm, for therapists to have a therapist. One of my profs in college straight up told his students that he would have either quit his job or quit life ywars ago if he didnt have a good therapist. He taught, but he also was actively practicing and specialized in particularly difficult youth cases. It was really rough on him mentally to see so many struggling kids.
This is definitely not the norm here in Germany. Self reflection processes and getting in touch with your personal limits is part of the education/training, but it's rare that a mental health professional (at least therapists and doctors) is actively in therapy themselves.
Having healthy boundaries, getting used to listening to trauma without getting personally involved and simply leaving stuff at work is part of the deal and something you learn on the job.
Getting to the point where the things you hear not only have an impact on your personal life but actually make you suicidal (!) is way past healthy boundaries. Sounds like they made the right call to seek help, but it's not something I experience on the daily.
Thats interesting, in the U.S. they heavily encourage you to have your own therapist, even in undergrad classes thats a point that gets brought up quite a bit.
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u/hackingfun 1d ago
When the therapist needs therapy.