What’s Your Back-up Career?

"What?! I don't have a back-up career. I live and breathe therapy. It's who I am. You can't separate me from it."

Really?

For me, it's not "Do I have a back up career?" - it's "Which one?"

My un-realistic back up plan is to become a hair stylist. But, then I think - that might be even worse. You think you're just helping people with their hair (trying to move away from the seriousness of therapy) and next thing you know clients are telling you all their problems. Only this time, you don't have the boundaries that therapy has. Yeah...no, thank you.

My next un-realistic plan is to be some kind of advocate (going in an entirely different direction away from being a hair stylist). In another life, I could have been a lobbyist and worked my whole life to fight for a singular cause. I could write and speak and travel. But, the reality of that life makes me tired.

My realistic back up plan is to continue to manage my group practice and retire from the actual counseling part.

Why am I talking about back-up careers? (And by the way, I haven't quit counseling - I still enjoy it and find great reward in doing EFT).

I'm talking about this because if you're honest - you've "broken up" with EFT or therapy as a profession a thousand times over. And then, you "get back together" with it. Instead of pathologizing that roller coaster, name your back up career. Maybe when things are low and you feel lost - you just need to really see if your back up career holds up. Follow it all the way through. That way, you won't feel stuck and you can find energy to go again.

Or, you might decide to go ahead and go with your back up career. That's ok, too! You're more than a therapist and you deserve to not burn out. In my experience, having permission to not want to do therapy is the first step toward clarity.

This field comes with a lot of pressure. Make sure you surround yourself with colleagues that don't take themselves or the field too seriously. Yes, the process of therapy is life changing. But - having an impact isn't limited to therapy.