The Emotional Toll of Being a Psychologist

Alyssa Proehl

“Why Shrinks Have Problems”By Robert Epstein PhD and Tim Bower

The article that I chose to focus on, looks at how strange shrinks are, at least that is how it starts. The article starts by explaining personality characteristics of Sigmund Freud. It's a colorful example of how psychologists, not only can be emotional, but can be very quirky.

The article suggests that “the problem is that mental health professionals—particularly psychologists—do a poor job of monitoring their own mental health problems and those of their colleagues.” (Epstein, Bower) Which is bizarre to think about because they should be the trained professionals. They go on to suggest that “In fact, the main responsibility for spotting an impaired therapist seems to fall on the patient, who presumably has his or her own problems to deal with.” (Epstein, Bower)

The article then suggests something a bit less crazy, that maybe people enter the medical field because of a history with psychological difficulty, wanting to not only understand the problems of others, but of themselves as well.

“Why Shrinks Have Problems”By Robert Epstein PhD and Tim Bower

“A 1993 study by James Guy, Ph.D. compared the early childhood experiences of female psychotherapists to those of other professional women. The therapists reported higher rates of family dysfunction, parental alcoholism, sexual and physical abuse, and parental death or psychiatric hospitalization than did their professional counterparts.” (Epstein, Bower)

A 1992 survey of male and female therapists shows that more than two-thirds of the women and one-third of the men reported having experienced some form of sexual or physical abuse in early life. (Epstein, Bower)

The article then moves from talking about the predisposition for having problems, to the impact that patients have on their therapists. According to the numbers in the article, about half of all therapists have been threatened by their patients and about 40 percent have actually been attacked. This can have an emotional impact on the therapist.

“Why Shrinks Have Problems”By Robert Epstein PhD and Tim Bower

The article continues with more reasons for therapists to have emotional distress. It continues with patients. It mentions spending lots of time with a depressed patient who eventually commits suicide, or just spending hours on end listening to people talk about how unbelievably miserable is, takes its toll emotionally.

Another reason for the emotional distress is just the world's problems in general, that is according to the article, they listed statistics for depression, divorce, and HMO’s causing anxiety and more distress.

The article finishes up with rates of substance abuse and suicide rates of therapists and reasons why they don’t use their knowledge on themselves. A reason why,for example, being speculated as “They cope better”.

Emotion in the WorkplaceIn many jobs, communication between the employee and the customer involves some

degree of emotional content.

Emotional Labor is a way of emotion regulation in which an employee controls their emotion in a workplace environment. There are two types of emotional labor, there is;

Deep acting

Surface acting

Emotional Labor can increase success and profits in an organization, as well as can cause negative job outcomes though stress and anxiety.

Emotion can be controlled through training, and workers are aware that they are acting for the profit of management and occasionally themself as well.

Emotion in the Workplace Three times that workers often feel emotional on the job: When they feel genuine emotion,

When they have emotional work, When they are involved in compassionate communication.

There are two aspects that create intense emotion within work relationships. These are, tension between public and private, and relational networks and emotional buzzing.

There are various perceived rules for emotional display in the workplace. These range from “The expression of certain emotions is always inappropriate” to “Express emotions in a professional way” with various other perceptions.

Stressors such as workload, conflict, role ambiguity and life events can cause a burnout, that is, an emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and decrease in personal accomplishment. This can lead to negative outcomes including heart disease.

Emotion in the Workplace There are three methods for coping with burnout;

Problem- Centered Coping: This means dealing directly with the cause of the burnout. Appraisal- Centered Coping: This means changing the way you are thinking about the

stressful situation. Emotion- Centered Coping: This means dealing with the negative affective outcomes

of the burnout. Seeking out support (being emotional support, informational support, or instrumental

support) from family, friends, supervisors and coworkers can also help reduce the effects of burnout.

When Does Emotion Play a Role in Psychology?Emotion plays a role in psychology in the office, during communication between

coworkers, between patient and doctor, outside the office effecting the patient, effecting the psychologist. Emotion is a constant in the field of psychology.

Why Emotion Plays a Role in PsychologyEmotion plays many roles in Psychology. This is such for both the patient and the

psychologist. While the article mostly focuses on how the interactions affect the psychologist, they affect the patient as well.

Emotion is what brings in the clientele, therefore it's everything to do with the patient. The entire industry of psychology, therapy that is, is centered around the emotional needs of the patient. The patient is the one who pays the bills and pays a huge role. The role of the psychologist is to help the patient through whatever the emotional difficulties they may be experiencing. This could be anything from a stressful event or a disorder listed in the DSM 5. The patient is seeking help leaving them vulnerable, and working through their “problem” whatever it may be is going to be an emotional experience for them regardless.

Why Emotion Plays a Role in PsychologyAnother reason for why emotion plays a role in psychology is to diagnose the patient. In a

lot of cases, symptoms of disorders are expressed in various emotional interactions. And in a lot of cases it is necessary to express emotions to recover.

For example, in the case of phobia, a common technique to treat the phobia is systematic desensitization. This is when you step by step expose the patient to the object of the phobia. Treatment is often a very emotional experience, however rewarding.

Psychologists also have a very emotional experience, as I have already mentioned in the summary of the article. This can be from outside life occurrences such as divorce, or it can be from a relationship with a patient.

Why Emotion Plays a Role in PsychologyFor example, if you were to have a patient who you saw frequently for their

depression because they are transgender, and they were making a whole bunch of progress, and then they committed suicide, that would cause feelings of sadness, loss, guilt and so many other emotions. Between 20 and 30 percent of all psychotherapists experience the suicide of at least one patient, again with often devastating psychological fallout. (Epstein, Bower)

Another reason why a psychologist has an emotional role is because many of the people in therapy are there because it is court mandated, or because a loved one is forcing them to be there. This combined with the people who are violent and have mental health problems, creates a statistic 50% of therapists are threatened of 40% of therapists are actually attacked. (Epstein, Bower)

How Emotion Plays a Role in Psychology"Mental health professionals are probably at heightened risk for not just alcoholism but [all

types of] substance abuse,"(Epstein, Bower) The article I read followed the personal testimony of a psychologist who had an alcohol abuse problem, and then discussed the higher probability for a psychologist to become an alcoholic. This is because of the correlation with depression and anxiety.

In a 1968 hospital study, psychiatrists reported reacting to patient suicides with feelings of "guilt and self-recrimination." Others considered the suicide to be "a direct act of spite" or said it was like being "fired." Whatever the reaction, the emotional toll is great. (Epstein, Bower)

This shows how much of an emotional impact patients have on their psychologist. They have such an intimate relationship that they feel guilty, as if they are being “fired”, when the patient commits suicide.

How Emotion Plays a Role in PsychologyHaving experienced pain and suffering in the past, as most psychologist have as I

mentioned in the summary of the article, plays into the “wounded healer concept”. This means that they can relate easier and better to their patients suffering. It’s a lot easier to open up to someone who you feel you can relate with, who is similar to you.

As psychologists grow older in age, they have a greater need for intimacy and social support. With this being the case they put more focus into their patients, take less time off, and in turn become addicted to their patients. This risk is even greater in psychologists who have their own isolated practice.

If therapists really have special tools for helping people, shouldn't they be able to use their techniques on themselves?

“B. F. Skinner, systematically applied behavioral principles to modify his own behavior, and he ridiculed Freud and the psychoanalysts for their inability to apply their "science" to themselves.”(Epstein, Bower)

There was a study done to answer this question, with two major findings. First: "Therapists admit to as much distress and as many life problems as laypersons, but they also claim to cope better. They rely less on psychotropic medications and employ a wider range of self-change processes than laypersons." Second: "When therapists treat patients, they follow the prescriptions of their theoretical orientation. But the amazing thing is that when therapists treat themselves, they become very pragmatic." In other words, when battling their own problems, therapists dispense with the psychobabble and fall back on everyday, commonsense techniques—chats with friends, meditation, hot baths, and so on. (Epstein, Bower)

Questions:

Questions:

I think that because therapists have the tools to deal with such problems, they are much better equipped to cope than others. For example, while a psychologist may stoop to coping through alcoholism, another person, may commit suicide. This is not always the case. However, when it comes to self reflection, and diagnosis and help, those tools are less helpful because we become much more ineffective because we are objective. We may also be in denial of sorts about events or character flaws that another may see and help us to work through with time.

If therapists really have special tools for helping people, shouldn't they be able to use their techniques on themselves? (Continued)

Questions:Would it be difficult to have a successful career in psychology without a past of pain and suffering?

Questions:

I don’t believe that it would be difficult to have a successful career in psychology without a past of pain and suffering. However it would be easier to connect with patients who are going through a great deal of pain and suffering. Patients will often open up faster and easier to someone who they feel is similar to themself. This brings back into play the idea of the “Wounded healer”.

“Experience with pain can enhance a therapist's sensitivity, but that doesn't necessarily translate into good outcomes.”(Epstein, Bower)

This shows that while people may prefer to open up to someone who is a “wounded healer” that doesn’t meant it will show better results. Someone without a past of pain and suffering may have better results in the end.

Would it be difficult to have a successful career in psychology without a past of pain and suffering? (Continued)

Questions:

One side note is that often times, many job interviews screen out people who have come from unbroken homes when looking for psychologist positions.

“The admission process -- interview questions, essays, and so on -- was structured, albeit subtly, to screen out people who hadn't suffered enough. What's more, I've heard colleagues express concern about the occasional student or trainee who, through no fault of his or her own, came from an unbroken home.”(Epstein, Bower )

This may make it more difficult to find a career and establish a name in the psychology industry if you don’t a past of pain and suffering.

Would it be difficult to have a successful career in psychology without a past of pain and suffering? (Continued)

Questions:

One way to avoid the emotional wear, or at least to avoid such a harmful effect, is to see a psychologist yourself. Seeing a psychologist is highly recommended by the article I read, and I have heard since I was young that therapists should see a therapist.

Psychoanalysts are not required to go to therapy themselves at any point in their career despite the misconception that the are. Only 60 to 85 percent of therapists have been to therapy at some point in their lives. (Epstein, Bower).

Seeking support from family, friends, and coworkers may help as well. They should know about your distress. This can prevent burnout.

How do you avoid the emotional wear as a psychologist? It seems unavoidable.

Questions:

I would love to see an in depth study done on the effect patient suicides have on their psychologists.

Until this article I had never thought about that before, however I couldn't find many statistics or much information at all on the relationship. I think it's such an interesting relationship to look at because it is so intimate, I never would have thought it would have an impact until I read this article. Now I want to know so much more.

Future Study Idea:

Work Cited: Epstein, R., PhD, & Bower, T. (2015, November 20). Why Shrinks Have Problems. Retrieved March 25, 2016, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199707/why-shrinks-have-problems