Signs a Counselor Might Need an Intervention
by Laurie Berkshire
When you go to Counseling School, you’re trained to analyze and assess everything a person does. It’s a handy skill to have both in and out of the office. But when you use anything too much, it can become an addiction.
If you’re a counselor and worry you might be an addict, here are some signs that you might need an intervention:
1. Your friend says she has a juicy piece of gossip to tell you later, and you start worrying it might violate HIPPA laws.
2. You’re in the checkout line at Home Depot and the guy next to you is buying a case of razor blades, so you do a sucide assessment on him.
3. You spend Christmas dinner with your family by going around the table and mentally diagnosing each one with a personality disorder.
4. You count the number of seconds it takes people in public bathrooms to wash their hands. When it reaches the one-minute mark, you decide to say something.
5. You start attaching the word “therapy” to anything that makes you feels better: Coffee Therapy, Cheesecake Therapy, Shoe-Shopping Therapy, Burp-n-Fart Therapy, Handcuff Therapy.
6. While shopping at the local greenhouse, you start explaining to the other customers why gardening is such a “great coping skill!”
7. The hostess at your favorite restaurant is always calm, cheerful and positive-minded, so you ask her what anti-depressant she’s on so you can suggest it to your clients.
8. The cashier asks you “Paper or plastic?” and you respond “Do you think paper or plastic is all you have to offer? You’re a human being with unlimited potential. What happened in your childhood to make you believe you only have 2 things to offer the world?”
9. You’re driving to work in the morning and see a guy carrying a 12-pack of beer, so you roll down your window and yell “Go to a meeting!”
10. You spend so much time analyzing, diagnosing and giving advice to your friends and family that when they give you a birthday present you say “Sorry, I can’t take gifts from clients.”
