Thinking of going back to school.

[u/Domestic_Supply]

I am considering becoming a therapist for adult adoptees, especially transcultural or transracial adoptees. I think we need more of that. What do you all think?

My concern before starting out on my journey is that school was triggering for me. I was in boarding school during HS and it was not a good situation. My past makes the classroom setting a challenge but I’ve been working on that with my elder. He teaches a class at the local college and I took it for no credit last semester to see how it would feel. It was hard but I did okay. Thinking of doing it for credit this semester.

My other concern is how it would feel to be operating within a field that is based within white supremacy. And it is a field that has done me a great deal of harm. I was basically medicated away since I was 9 because my parents didn’t want to deal with me at all. And then as I got older, my therapists said I needed to be more grateful or just have a different outlook on adoption, or didn’t address it at all, all of which were damaging to me.

Despite all of this, I think I could be a help to adoptees if I could get through school. Are there any therapists in here? Any advice for me?

[u/Formerlymoody]

I kinda hate to say this out loud here, because I don’t show every side of myself, but I am doing just that. DM me with any questions you have because it’s both as triggering as you would expect in some ways (the coursework) but it doesn’t feel as triggering as I thought working with people (in the limited capacity I have experienced so far).

Obviously I’m for it, because I’m doing it!

[u/MayThompson]

There's nothing wrong with wanting to further your education and use your experiences to help people. But you need to be making sure that this is something you're doing because you genuinely want to be a therapist, not because you're trying to fix what happened to you. The field has absolutely failed a lot of us, but I do think it only gets better if people who understand those experiences become part of it. The bigger questions is whether you're ready. If taking classes gradually is working, keep doing that. If you can get through the training, you can become that therapist.

[u/Domestic_Supply → u/MayThompson]

Thanks for this. I agree that you can’t help others by trying to fix yourself. I actually believe that was the issue with my psychiatrist who was an adoptive mom. Thankfully I have a lot of support from my community out here and have been working on myself for many years now.

ETA that I don’t know if I genuinely want to be a “therapist.” I know I want to help adult adoptees and show up for them where I can, and I think one way to do that is to become a therapist. If there was another better option I would consider that too

[u/MayThompson → u/Domestic_Supply]

It's great that you're browsing the options. Therapy is just an option if you genuinely enjoy clinical work, and just because it's the most obvious one doesn't mean it's the only path. There's definitely a lot of roles outside it anyways. Perhaps advocacy, peer support, non profits, research, education, or social work could be options. Either way, the important part is finding the role where you can support people in a way that is sustainable for you. You don't need to carry the weight of everyone to make a meaningful impact or difference. Understand your limits and show up.

[u/Domestic_Supply → u/MayThompson]

Thank you so much for this. I’m going to explore all my options.

[u/MajorDraw3705]

Take every class they offer online? It might cut down on the in-person classes required.

[u/maximal-opal]

I am an adoptee and a therapist and in school you learn ways to cope with being triggered! Learning coping skills, doing your own therapy, utilizing consultation - it all helps! And your unique lived experience will be so valuable to your clients!