Hi, you'll probably get a million different answers to this one!
To answer your second question first: I'd be willing to bet that
psychiatrists *are* in general quite a bit more "psychiatrically
challenged" (i.e. depressed, manic, OCD, etc) than the general
population is, but not for the reason you are suggesting. I think
that they are more "crazy" (if this common perception is actually
true) because a good number of them may have gotten into the field in
the first place to fix themselves. I mean, what is a more compelling
reason to learn all about psychiatry, than to learn how you can fix
your own problems? Anyway, that's just a guess, of course...
As to your first question: I bet that it's fairly common for patients
to *worry* about the effects they will have on their therapist. My
thought is, though, that if the therapist is in pretty good emotional
shape, s/he will be able to discriminate between the patient's worst
fears and his/her own. This was certainly my own experience in
therapy. I mean, there were things I worried about like there was no
tomorrow, but to her they simply were not a source of anxiety. NOT
that she didn't care for me, and empathize that I was wrestling with
my inner demons. But she let me know that I could share these
feelings, I could even get mad at her, and she could take it.
Certainly every therapist will have their limit, though, to how much
craziness/angst/hysteria they can put up with. But there are
certainly people who can put up with a lot. I met a psychiatrist at a
dinner party once, who specialized in the "craziest" people--
schizophrenics, people with paranoid delusions-- and he LOVED his job.
I got the feeling he really knew how to help these people, and their
own thoughts that were so disturbing to them just didn't bother him.
He just seemed like a really nice, balanced guy.
It's not so hard to imagine, of course, that a patient could wind up
with one of the more anxious, neurotic psychiatrists-- perhaps even
one whose own fears resonated with those of the patient. The solution
I would suggest in this case is-- find a new psychiatrist!! There are
plenty of them to be found, and the less crazy the better. One of my
favorite images of an effective psychiatrist is from the book "The
Eden Express", written by the son of Kurt Vonnegut (who went crazy, in
the most florid sense, but went on to medical school and became a
pediatrician). In the end of the book, the psychiatrist with the
biggest impact (in my opinion, anyway) on Mr. Vonnegut turned out to
be a very mild man who wore tacky clothes and alligator shoes. (NB
Vonnegut denies that any of the Drs he saw in the hospital did
anything significant for him, but I think otherwise-- I'd love to know
what others who've read this book think!)
Anyway, I think anyone who is looking for psychiatric assistance now,
either in the USA, Europe or maybe Australia (other places too...?),
is more likely to find good help than at any other time in history. I
think we are just at the beginning of a really powerful wave of
progress in this most crucial field. Of course, the irony is that
people in these places may NEED more help than at any other time in
history ;)
Hope this is helpful :)
Chuck
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