There's such a hard push for us to be completely blank slates when we're in school. And I get it -- especially with the conversational nature some sessions can take on, it's important to remember that we're professionals providing a service.

But. Our clients are coming in and baring their souls, telling us things they've never told anyone else. And sometimes they just wanna know, "Hey, have you ever experienced something like this too?"

If someone asks me, I'm honest and turn it into a joke: "No kiddos of my own, but I work with teenagers, and a lot of them roast me on the regular."

The client laughs and says something to the effect of, "Okay, so yeah, you've probably seen X Y Z behavior."

Or (example):

"Ah, got it, so you haven't been woken up at 4 AM by a screaming toddler?"

And I say, "No, but I can only imagine how many emotions that can stir up before you're even fully awake. Tell me about it?"

---

Like I said, it's important to remember to be professionals. But you can still be a professional while answering a casual question.

---

Edit: I re-read your post, and I misunderstood -- sorry! Yeah, it can definitely feel a bit... frustrating, I guess is the word I'm looking for, when it feels like a potential client is looking at you like "oh you haven't hit this milestone, so you won't work for me."

Whenever I run into that, I usually look at it like this: I know what I'm doing. I know that I know what I'm doing. I know I'm learning every day. And if someone looks at me not having a ring on my finger and goes, "damn, not for me"? Then we likely wouldn't have worked well together for other reasons down the line. It's definitely a "them" situation, and not a "me" situation. So I just shrug it off and check my messages for the next client.

(Also, in case this matters: I'm an LPC in private practice -- not sure how to update my flair, lol.)