Counsellors are people, too...

It is weird being a counsellor sometimes. People often react in interesting ways when they hear that I belong to this (misunderstood) profession. There are people who swamp me with their life stories at the first opportunity, expecting that I can ‘fix them’ – of course for free. Others almost magically lose their voice, stumble for a bit, and then, clumsily, change the topic. Others again get this haunted look on their face before they suddenly avert any eye contact – for everyone knows that every decent counsellor can analyse another human being within the fraction of second. Because that's what we do for a living, isn't it? Yeah, right.

This is, of course, not true. Well, at least not entirely. Yes, counsellors (and other therapists) ARE trained to notice some cues that other people might miss. They listen differently. They are full of ideas and theories. But (and this is important)… Counsellors are also normal people. Really. People with feelings and thoughts and insecurities and flaws and all that jazz.
The thing is, I sometimes get the impression that I am ‘supposed’ to have it all together. To be calm and at peace with life and myself and others. To be a mature adult. The thing is, I am NOT always calm and at peace with life and myself and others. And I am far off being a mature adult at times (some would say more times than others). Yes, I am working towards it (many counsellors are on a life-long personal journey), but the thing is, I might not ever get there. And I am certainly 'not there yet'. I sometimes want to throw tantrums like a three-year old child (and yes, sometimes I actually do). I can get so very caught up in my emotions that I can't see a way out for a short (or long) time. I can get incredibly stubborn and incredibly insecure – sometimes at the same time. I can deeply love and deeply hate people, including myself. I sometimes have no idea how to do this thing called life. How to survive in this confusing world. A lot of people might go through similar struggles. And the thing is, I am people, too.
So please, whoever you are, be gentle when you meet a counsellor. We have feelings like everyone else. We need breaks like everyone else. We have up and downs like everyone else. We get it right (and wrong) like everyone else. We are people, just like everyone else…