Should therapists specialize in treating clients who are working through things they can relate to? As with most things in life, this is a nuanced question.
Today, let’s delve into some of the things to take into consideration if you would like to be a therapist who specializes in something you relate to. I’d also like to offer some tools to help you figure this question out for yourself.
Prefer to watch the video? You can watch the episode here:
3 types of personal connections
There are different categories for personal connections to a particular topic/specialty/experience.
- You have a close tie to an experience.
- Example: You grew up with a parent who abused substances and now you specialize in substance abuse treatment.
- Direct past experience
- This is when you are treating a condition you experienced in your past, though you may have worked to move through it.
- Direct current experience
This is when you treat folks dealing with something that you’re experiencing right now. There’s a lot that could go wrong if therapists specialize in something they are actively going through.
Therefore, if you’re considering specializing in something that you’re still actively going through, then I do think that it deserves some extra attention and scrutiny before you choose to make it your specialty.
But, it doesn’t inherently make it a bad idea. It may still be a fantastic idea. It really depends on the situation.
8 discernment questions
All of that said, let’s identify some things to consider before naming something as a specialty if you have a personal tie to the topic.
1) What are your reasons for wanting to specialize in this area?
This is a valuable first question. If your primary motivator is because you’re seeking your own healing, this might be a good moment to pause and seek some consultation. Maybe even some personal therapy.
I personally believe that helping other people go through things that we’ve had a personal connection with is inherently healing. Even though our primary job is for us to support our clients. That’s a critical piece that we want to parse out with this question.
2) How triggering is this topic for you?
It’s important to ask how triggered you are by the topic. Do you enter a full-blown panic attack anytime you hear someone mention the topic you have a personal tie with?
Then, for at least today, that’s probably not the thing you want to specialize in. We don’t want a situation where you don’t have the emotional capacity/clarity to be there for your client.
That being said, I don’t want to convey that we aren’t allowed to have any sort of physiological reaction to topics that our clients go through. Personally, there are times when I can feel anger or my heart rate increase when injustices happen toward my clients.
I think it is helpful to discern how that activated state affects you. How intense does your reaction get towards this topic? Do you tend to dissociate? Or maybe your reaction is such that you’re not able to tend toward or see your client’s needs?
3) What are your automatic thoughts related to this experience?
Of course, we all have automatic thoughts about pretty much everything! But, do you have automatic beliefs that are potentially negative, harmful, or shameful about this situation, or a person who is going through this experience?
How much of a hold do these automatic thoughts have? How open-minded are you to seeing things from different perspectives? It’s important to have freedom from having to fully latch onto whatever your automatic thought is.
4) Are you open to an array of healthy outcomes?
If you’ve had a certain experience and you found something that helped, then it can be so easy to see that approach as the way because it worked for you.
So, ask yourself: am I open to the array of routes available that can lead my clients to a healthy outcome? A healthy outcome for them. Which might look different than a healthy outcome for you.
No matter what therapists specialize in, no matter how connected they are to their niche, it’s so important to stay connected with whatever available evidence and research there is about what is successful with a particular issue/experience.
5) How would you respond when clients don’t improve?
What would your response be if your clients don’t improve at all, or in the ways that you hoped?
As you reflect, if you do identify that you need your clients to improve in order to be okay or to feel like a good therapist, then I encourage you to pause a bit longer before making this your specialty. Seek consultation before diving into this niche.
6) Do you find this specialty fascinating?
I don’t hear too many people talk about this question when discussing what therapists specialize in.
Do you find this topic inherently interesting or fascinating? Are you continuously wanting to learn more? If not, then it’s worth reflecting on why.
If there is something way more interesting to you, then that is worth exploring a bit more!
7) Do you feel hopeful for clients in this specialty?
Do you experience a sense of hope for clients who are seeking support in this area? Some of us get interested in a specialty because we’re more motivated by anger rather than hope.
And it makes sense! Anger is fully valid, deserves to stay present, and may help as a motivator. Anger may very well be riding right there in the passenger seat. But, if we have hope driving the car then we can be much more confident that it’s going to be a smooth and safe ride.
Anger can offer its commentary as we go. And, I’m sure it will!
8) How well-managed is your current experience?
This is a special consideration to note for those who are actively in the midst of the thing that they are considering specializing in.
How well-managed is your experience? How potentially debilitating is your experience?
In some cases, it might be that you have a lifelong diagnosis but it’s very well-managed. In which case you might be an ideal candidate to treat folks going through the same thing.
But, if your mental well-being is poorly managed when it comes to that experience, I would strongly urge you to seek advice and support from trusted colleagues or a personal therapist.
Closing thoughts
Are you considering specializing in an area that you have a personal tie with? Not sure if it’s the best fit? If so, you could run through the above list of things to consider and see what comes up.
Write down your answers and consider any remaining fears or lingering questions. Then, bring them to a trusted colleague, consult group, or personal therapist. No need to rush this kind of decision!
Coming back to our initial question: can therapists specialize in something they personally relate to? I would say: it depends!
And, if you are specializing in something that you don’t have a personal connection to, that is absolutely okay! It’s just important that we are equipped and capable of supporting our clients.
More niche resources
As I go through these considerations, I know that some people are going to be feeling this. So I want to repeat something I say when I speak about what therapists specialize in. You don’t have to lock yourself in a niche forever! You really, really don’t. You can change your specialty.
I don’t want a narrative of: I need to land on my niche and find the one that I’m going to stick with for 30 years to create any unnecessary pressure.
If you need help in thinking through the options of what specialities would be best for you, I have a video about 5 ways to find your therapy niche.
Finally, sometimes it’s helpful to hear a personal story about how someone else landed on their therapy speciality. Here’s my story about how I chose my niche.
And until next time, from one therapist to another: I wish you well!
-Marie
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