The truth is that I have a hard time putting into words why I do what I do. The truth is that I like to feel like a superhero. Like Batman, I often visualize myself responding to the beacon of distress. For years in my job I had a pager that went off when someone needed help dealing with people in some pretty dramatic and risky situations. This didn’t help what I affectionately call my superhero complex.
As you might guess, this is not a good quality in a therapist. No one really wants to be treated like a damsel in distress. Even if they do it isn’t the path to good mental health. It is a fast track to burn out. None of us can be everything to everyone that needs us. Superman, Batman and Spiderman all have learned this lesson while fighting crime. The difference is that I am real and they are not. I have worked hard on folding up my cape and putting it in the closet. Every once in a while I still find myself trying it on, being a parent will do that to you.
In the past few years I have started to understand my drive differently. I love my job for many reasons that are hard to explain. Mostly I love my job because I am proud of my clients and I am honoured that they trust me enough to share some of the most intimate parts of themselves with me. I get to see people with their masks off, even if I just get a peak. You get to see someone’s true character when things are at their worst. It is sort of like having ex-ray vision but more personal and less creepy.
We live in a time of helicopter parenting, status updates, therapy in 140 words or less and other quick fixes. It seems to me that we all need to take off our capes every once in a while and appreciate the strength hidden all around us. It is even within you. I can tell because I have ex-ray vision.