the truth about being an early career psychologist

[@Jean72656]

Hi Ro, I’m a first year student at USYD studying psychology. Thank you so much for making such amazing videos and being a big inspiration to me. Your videos and content help me keep going everyday even when it gets tough. I will work hard to become a clinical psychologist one day in the future even though it seems tough at the moment. Thank you again for always making me see the best version of myself and shining brighter everyday.😊

[@thepsychdiaries]

This makes me so so happy thank you for sharing. You've got this!!

[@imprints-of-noah7620]

I'm an early career psych less than 6 months out of uni in my first job, and you've summarised the experience so well. My husband has said that he doesn't know what to expect when I come home as some days I'll be happy and bubbly and full of energy, and other days I won't say a word because I'm so drained. I love what I am doing so much but there are times where I get tired from dealing with tricky things. Thank you for normalising the experience :)

[@ivy3986]

I’ve always wanted to go into counseling but being a single mom/ introvert/ always having struggled with anxiety/ depression has made me wonder if it’s truly something I can do long term. I burn out so easily and have been working on my empathy because what may be the worst thing in the world for one person may just be normal for someone else. So i’m learning to never compare situations/ feelings and take every interaction as is. You truly are amazing and I hope one day I’ll get in a good place where I can go back to school and create real change in people. Thank you for providing so much insight on the profession.

[@thepsychdiaries]

Honestly I think as a mum you're already making a huge difference (after doing child therapy I have to say being a parent seems like the toughest job in the world 😅). Thank you for sharing and you've got this!

[@charizarr.d]

thank you for the candid vlog, ro. I've had pursuing this field in the backburner for a while, and you r highlighted both the thing that fascinated me most and worried me most about this field ( being a safe confidant & seeing ppl back to back). glad to hear that you wouldn't give it up at all!

[@markbrinker3489]

Thanks for this Ro, I'm studying to hopefully become a psychologist one day and I got goosebumps listening to all those little joys of the job. Makes this tough part all seem worth it, we all appreciate your wisdom very much!

[@Sazza97___123]

Thank you for making this video. I'm an early career psychologist as well and this really resonated with me. There's lots of challenges in private practice, but the job can be so rewarding as well.

[@gaoeric111]

Hey Ro, thanks for sharing this. As someone who used to work in insolvency I felt the same struggle with the moral and ethical dilemmas you talk about here. There were several days where you'd spend time on the phone listening to people confide about the fallout of losing their money/job/company and it was always so difficult to try and hear them out knowing that you'd have to charge someone for the time you'd spent. What was also tough was knowing that in the future you might make decisions that would impact their outcomes in potentially negative ways...

[@answaseem7337]

Reminds me of my client consultation days. More power to you.

[@aume00sa]

Hi Ro, thank you so much for sharing your experiences and insight. It sounds like it's been quite intense, and I truly empathise with you. Being in a helping role, I understand how fulfilling it can be to support others, but I also recognise the toll it can take on your well-being. Please remember to be kind to yourself, and I hope you can find some time for much-needed self-care, whatever form that may take for you. I'm a novice counsellor and struggling with imposter syndrome, which can be very emotionally draining at times. Any tips on how to handle this issue delicately? (maybe a new video idea for the future?) take care xx

[@Wie-gt7if]

Thank you for these insights, I’ve heard similar stories from therapists I was interning with. They really focused on self care and mental hygiene. I also wanted to say, please don’t worry about uploading every week! I really appreciate videos you do and would rather see videos every two weeks or so and you not feeling burnt out😊

[@joelwilliams3115]

I definitely worry about this too, as an introvert. Have you ever dated another psychologist? Or psychology student? Maybe that would be a healthier dynamic, and someone who would understand what you go through day to day. I know I would want someone I could share that load with when I’m a practicing psych in the future.

[@iamstillalive79]

Hi, Ro. Thank you so much for all the videos. Your experience really helped me a lot to choose my career path. Thank you for all your sharing. I will keep supporting your channel. Keep it up

[@cairosilver2932]

Reminds me of when the news goes from some terrible event and then...here's sport! Emotionally it doesn't make sense to cut from one emotion to another like that. And similarly, if empathy is a resource is it possible to keep some aside for a partner? It takes extra empathy to engage interest with someone who had their stapler taken by X coworker again if, as you say, you've had to support several people with life ending inclinations. So that's hard - to have a romantic life or social life you're going to need empathy resources...and with X amount of resources, that means clients can't have as much. So how close can you get to perfect with clients? If it's okay to suggest, maybe write down how many points of empathy you think each client used up and also log when you have a collapse. You might be able to figure out how many points of empathy you have per day and that might help with planning.

[@thepsychdiaries]

That's such a creative idea! Yea for sure I think I'm still figuring out capacity so it's definitely a work in progress

[@miarichards7222]

Hi Ro, thank you for your honesty in this video. I have just graduated as a psychologist and am now navigating the workforce. I wonder if you would be open to creating a video about CPD, how you organise it, what you prioritise \ and how to know what CPD are worthwhile. Thank you!

[@alicemariano3287]

this was really helpful and useful thank you so much for your honesty :)

[@sambarta9865]

Hey Ro, I’m perhaps commenting too early without watching, but I’d love to see a video update on your new job

[@rashiferhandez9026]

hi i'm rashi i also psychology student thank you for these vedios 😍

[@anotheruser69]

You are an inspiration to me

[@ShezainRouf]

My role model >>>>>

[@AubreyRHirsch]

If you were to take less clients do you feel like you could still make enough? 😊 if that would help with the burnout?

[@Iammarlonbrown]

Honestly 4 clients a day is on the low end and you could probably spread it out instead of back to back appointments. And that’ll still be 92k+ a year at 100$ an hour. Some psychologists have like 10-15 mins between sessions which is crazy to me.

[@sonianovak3527]

💌💌💌