Therapist are not immune from the problems they help their clients work through. When things are running smoothly in your personal life, you may have lots of energy to devote to your clients. But when your own problems develop—marital difficulties, troubles with your children’s behavior, or a physical injury to name a few examples—you need to make time to work through them.

Often, this will entail seeing a therapist yourself. Other times it may mean not taking on new clients for a month while you devote more of your time to your own pressing issues. If you do not devote the necessary time to addressing these problems, they will continue to develop and will continue to impair your professional performance. However, coping with your problems and overcoming them will lead to greater professional insight as
well as greater personal contentment.

Often, a particular clients issue will hit a nerve from an unresolved issue of the therapist. Some researchers believe that the therapists unresolved emotional issues are the root cause of job burn out. When you noticed you were getting overly hooked into a clients issue, this is a red flag that you need to do some therapeutic work yourself, apart from your practice. You must take care of yourself in this area or you’re in danger.