Letter to a young psychotherapist

The onset of clinical practice in psychology is experienced by young therapist as a major challenge. It involves feelings of hope, fear and uncertainty, among others. These feelings stem from the difficult task of not skipping steps in the process, having patience for theoretical, methodological and personal, and also going beyond the theory studied in an area where answers are not so obvious. Becoming a therapist is a lonely path in which we must also seek answers in ourselves for the questions that arise in our personal lives and also in governing the profession. The person who chooses to be a therapist needs to understand that therapy is an expression that means care, treatment and cure. Caring involves consideration, interest, attention, and concern, common attitudes among therapists in their relationship with patients, but rare when referring to themselves. For this reason the young therapist must be available for the meeting and the contact, a condition which is indispensable in the therapeutic relationship and, at the same time, she should take care of herself. The purpose of this letter is, in some way, to show that one must begin to make calls even if it does not feel quite ready for such an undertaking. The desire and willingness to serve, along with all the theory previously studied, will certainly enable her to initiate this activity.