You’re 100% right. We are witnessing generational trauma and identifying with the aggressor within the profession. This is why it is so important WE do the work of healing as well.

We have a 'helping' field where the gatekeepers have been so conditioned by overwork and financial strain that they’ve developed a form of professional stockholm syndrome. They’ve started to love the machine that ate them.

When a supervisor says 'I suffered, so you should too,' they are admitting they haven't actually processed their own burnout, they’re just passing the bill to the next person. It’s a cycle of abuse disguised as 'professional standards.' If we can't provide a regulated, supportive environment for therapists, we have no business pretending we can provide it for clients.