Curt and Katie talk about how therapists can be called into action in their off time. We look at how being a therapist can impact our relationships, how to put boundaries around your therapist role, and the risks of crossing boundaries between personal and professional roles with your friends and family members.
It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.
In this episode we talk about:
The different things that therapists might complain about with their therapist friends
How to identify what role you play with the people in your life
How to not do therapy with your friends or others who are seeking “free therapy”
Limit-setting, navigating your loved one’s needs
Becoming a resource, not a therapist
Giving referrals, supporting connection
Specific tactics about how to avoid being the “counselor” for your friends and family members
The importance of empowering the people around you to soothe themselves
When it is hard to take off the therapist hat
Determining how you engage, what emotional energy you have to give after a therapy day
When you may decide to step across the line
Determining which role your friend or family member actually want you to play
How perspective-taking can start irritating the people in our lives and may even lead to you losing your sense of self and identity
The expectations that others can have of us
How to set the boundaries with your friends and family members
The impact of how the role we played in our family of origin can mean a bit role shift after we train to be a therapist
How being an emotional hub can impact you as a therapist in the room
When it is okay to use some of your therapist skills in your relationships
How compassion fatigue and bias can make you a less empathic to your loved ones
