Ask Dr. Tseday: January 12, 2010

JA from CA asks: I wrote to you before and you were very encouraging. Thank you. I have so many questions on becoming MFT and/or a clinical psychologist. Can you share with me how and why you chose to become and MFT and later a clinical psychologist? What are the questions you asked yourself?

Dr. Tseday responds: While it might be interesting or even encouraging to hear what other clinicians have gone through as they pursued their profession, be careful not to take it too much too heart what they say because their experiences are very different from yours, and “they” ought not to influence you too much. If you’re looking outside yourself for solutions and direction very often, you’ll lose yourself. You’ll weaken yourself, your confidence and a sense of who you are. There are some things that people have to simply go through in order to figure out what they want and don’t want. You may not know if you’re doing the right thing unless you’ve done it and subsequently find out it isn’t the right thing. This is called life and it requires courage. So don’t be afraid. Just do it. If it works, it works. And if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. You’ll try something else. The pleasure will be in the journey of self-discovery, not necessarily in the end result.