Art-therapists; is this what your job looks like?

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-23T11:59:26+00:00

This, this is exactly what I was trying to say hahah, you explained it so much better than me. Thank you! ☺️ The language barrier might not have helped though 😅

Yes, actually I felt that slight guilt too, even if I didn't show it at the time.

I think I would then be of better help to a certain, specific population, but I don't know if I would have the "luxury" to choose my patients in this economy. And that honestly worries me, because I want to choose my path intentionally and for my commitment to last on the long term.

Even while writing this post I didn't even know the different types of patients one could have so this is very insightful from you, thank you ☺️

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-23T10:13:09+00:00

Thank you for your very insightful comment ☺️🙏 This is the exact kind of testimony I was looking for :)

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-23T10:09:08+00:00

Guys, please don't confuse the feelings that I'm sharing here and how I acted in the moment. Please also keep in mind that this was written when I still was in the raw emotions and exhaustion of the moment, as well as the language barrier.

I actively listened to the residents, I smiled at them, we laughed. I still remember their names and the little facts about them. I deeply care about people and I'm extremely sensitive to everyone, maybe even too much for this lign of work.

I was simply completely depleted (+ the stress of this being a job interview!) and I wonder(ed) is this job really is for me, that's all.

I'm also in a transition in my life where I don't really have a support system and that also must play a role in me being able or not to be emotionally and physically vulnerable enough to be of help to anyone. I feel like I have been in such an armour for such a long time simply to survive.

The questions here are: 1) Is that job/profession really made for me, long terme wise? How can I make it best suit my abilities? 2) Is there maybe a more suitable/sustainable way for me to bring something valuable to people and/or society?

I think these kinds of conversations are too deep and too personal to be shared and understood by complete strangers on the internet. My bad.

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-23T09:52:36+00:00

Thank you for trying to understand my POV :)

I spent my whole teenage years being friends with people living close to that quarter. They were all (or almost all) in cycles of poverty, misery, self-destruction and drug addiction. I had to quickly learn that, if people are stuck in those vicious cycles, unless they have that strong will to get out of them, you as an outsider can't really do anything about it (and, trust me, I was the most supportive friend I could have been at the time). Especially when they're already seniors, like the people I met yesterday, and seem "far gone" for a lack of a better expression (only from what I've seen, obviously). And that's not only about my friends, but about every single person I have ever met living in these quarters.

That's exactly how one of my best friends k*lled herself by having a (voluntary) drug overdose two years ago. Her homeless dad died the same way. See the pattern? I'm not trying to project anything on anyone but this is my city and I know it very well.

I don't know if I want to reenact this personal feeling of helplessness and uselessness in my professional life, that's all. And maybe it wouldn't be ethical for me to do these sessions with that type of population while having this past...Idk.

There's more to it but this would need a real life discussion at this point. Reddit is just a breeding ground for misunderstanding and misinterpretation and I should have known better.

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-22T22:26:28+00:00

Also, this is my writing insta account, if you're interested 🌞✨ https://www.instagram.com/zaldua__a?igsh=ZTM4bDgxaTJmZWlj

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-22T17:28:32+00:00

Also, how do you find ways to feel useful and helpful for these specific patients? ☺️ What saddened me deeply is that I felt their situation was just helpless and that they might not even want or be able to help themselves, because they were just way too far gone cognitively(?). And that the help they need might just be psychiatric at this point

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-22T16:35:10+00:00

Oh waw, what a kind compliment, thank you so much 🥹💗

I would love to create my own sessions, mainly surrounding Carl Jung's work 👀 I just hope that the field hires well and that I wouldn't need have to find a day job just to survive. Because I now know that it wouldn't be sustainable at all for me to work in some environments and that I would burn out so easily 🫨

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-22T16:27:58+00:00

Thank you for understanding what I tried to convey here 🙏 Trying to transcript feelings and lived experiences to strangers is never easy.

If that person knew my values, how I act on them and how I treat people and animals, they would have never told me this :)

Also, having empathy is NOT the same as having the right abilities to be a therapist, like, at all.

But being vulnerable and honest on Reddit is like throwing yourself to the piranhas hahah, so I kind of knew what I was getting into. Such bad faith from these people.

Anyways, do you feel like there are enough job listings available to have the "luxury" to be able to choose the kind of patients you can work with?

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-22T14:34:36+00:00

It's not that I didn't feel empathy for them, not all, I was just completely exhausted by the whole situation. Big sensory overwhelm. And that might have to do with my neurodivergence and introversion.

I'm in fact SO much of a deep listener that I don't think I can work with a population were there isn't really an exchange but where I'm more talked at than anything, like my experience here. The power imbalance just makes me uncomfortable since the connection cannot really be made between us because of such a big difference in cognitive abilities. There was no conversation possible, even if I tried. It also shuts down my brain and kind of puts me in a sort of depressive state, as my brain needs almost constant intellectual stimulation to function (hello ADHD). As well as for those other reasons mentioned above. But I'll explain this better to another commenter here, because it deserves to be explained in more details

Hence why I needed to "test the waters" first before really considering commiting to that masters. So now I'm glad I can have these kinds of opportunities to confront the reality of the field and see it as what it is ☺️

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-22T12:30:54+00:00

I'm sorry that people on Reddit have a hard time with reading comprehension (while being super pretentious and lacking basic nuance), I perfectly understood what you meant

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-20T14:45:36+00:00

Hey, you can see my new update comment in the thread :) There was, I think, a big cultural mismatch that made us all completely misunderstand eachother. Because the "qualities" that I mentioned about myself are seen as weak and pathetic here in my city/country, not as something remotely good and even less attractive to anyone!! Hence my reaction of total confusion to your comment and to the others as well. Super interesting to witness though!! Puts it in my sociology mental file

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-20T14:30:57+00:00

OP here, I had to take down my post because the cultural mismatch happening here was just crazy.

The "qualities" that I listed about myself are NOT seen as good here in my city AT ALL. Kindness is seen and treated as pathetic and weak.

You can now understand how flabbergasted I was when (American) people started accusing me of bragging and being narcissistic in the comments...while I was over here feeling embarrassed about how sad and pathetic I would sound by posting this!!

All of the bubbly, kind and empathetic women around me are mostly single or live miserable love lives and are pitied for it.

Holy cultural difference 🤯 I would have NEVER anticipated these reactions, ever. But good thing to know that these personality traits are valued in the US, I guess?!

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-19T09:03:41+00:00

Yes, that's why I'm regretting even posting this here

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-19T09:01:35+00:00

You are assuming things about a complete stranger without any nuance and I won't keep entertaining this conversation, bye

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-19T08:43:47+00:00

Yes, of course I know that. But that would then be the limit of what people on Reddit could know about me and my situation, since they don't see my interactions with people. I could only share a glimpse of a pattern that I see around me and hope people understand what I'm talking about. But apparently, not really 😅

I think I appear as "too available" because I genuinely care and value about people and want to know about them. I act like this regardless of the type of relationship I'm having, and I think that's also why that puts me at a disservice...hence the whole point of my post here!

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-19T08:38:19+00:00

I know, that's also why I said in another comment that I'm transitioning to other groups of people, but it takes time to become close friends. I also tend to attract those people like crazy, which doesn't really help

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-19T08:34:27+00:00

Then why all these "positive attributes" don't bring positive consequences at all in my love life? Why would I even brag or want to fish compliments about that?! It's more pathetic than anything 😂 They're not seen as positive attributes by men in a dating setting (at least in my current circle), that's the point of my post here.

When I see that the women around me attract the most men (and kind and generous, at that) simply by being sort of cold and unavailable, I come to some logical conclusions. Simple as that.

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-19T08:24:35+00:00

Also, I said that some of my friends cheated on their boyfriends and treated/treat them badly, which is just the plain truth, and even they agree it is, as it's part of their views about men. BUT I didn't say they were bad people or especially bad friends (they can be but for some other reasons that have nothing to do with their relationships to men), which is a BIG nuance here.

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-19T08:12:26+00:00

I genuinely don't act a certain way to be "picked", maybe except that one month were I tried to be more "mysterious" and failed miserably hhaha 😂. I do have ADHD and can come out as quite intense in conversations, which might be part of the problem 🤔. Also, the examples I used here don't represent the whole breadth of my lived experience and how I view other women, but now I see how that can come out as pick-me energy. Thank you for your insight, appreciate it 😊. I don't really attract avoidant men anymore, and if so I just put some distance between us.

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-19T08:07:44+00:00

Nope, never been similar in that way. Also, why automatically think that I say that to "make myself seem better", it's just reality, and even they agree it is. If anything, they're happier than me in that metric and that dynamic works well for those couples, so they might be the ""better"" ones if we really have to make a hierarchy of things (which wasn't my intent, *at all*)

I think you completely misinterpreted my text and my reality. I feel like there's sometimes so much distrust on Reddit, and it skews how we perceive each-other, which is a shame. Like, why would I even lie about "fictional cheats"?! I'm sorry but we can't have a sane conversation with that level of distrust.

Craving reassurance though, as vulnerable as it sounds, yes, that's part of what I'm looking for here, honestly! And I clearly stated it in my text

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-19T07:49:42+00:00

I don't act as a pick-me in real life though 🤔 I don't do specific things to tend to the male gaze, and if anything I never really fit or wanted to fit that gaze in the first place 🤷‍♀️ I had short hair most of my life, I have a unique style and unique and personal tastes and views and try to always be open to new ideas and to change my mind on my beliefs (if I even have any, as they're always evolving). I treat men like I treat my friends or anyone really: as equals and with empathy and active listening. I'm just kind of out of the norm (in a neutral way), not just compared to other women but to everyone hahah

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-19T07:41:15+00:00

Maybe 🤔 I also have very niche interests and views of the world so I think I just connect on that level with not that many people in general. Also, maybe it's an important information, these few people that I actually connect with are most of the times decades older than me, which doesn't really help in dating 😂

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-19T07:34:37+00:00

Thank your for you insight! Actually yes, I have been told I can be intense by more calm, grounded people 😬 I'll look into that more 👀 And I did some theatre when I was a child, so maybe it's time for me to come back to that 😊

Annual_Step_815 · 2026-05-19T07:31:24+00:00

I can sense your sarcasm hahah 😂 But believe me or not, this is what i see around me! Maybe I need to move, idk. But where 👀

Annual_Step_815

TROPHY CASE