It wouldn't surprise me to hear that it's common. My T specializes in trauma and ACoA cases, but he's also a recovering addict. Honestly, I see it as an asset to his skills, not a setback. It gives him a lot of empathy and insight.

Hi Hope.

I'm in a trauma group currently, led by a T who just had her 30th "sobriety birthday." She has also experienced a lot of her own trauma. I find it much easier to trust her and what she says because of her history.

Hi Hope4,
It's nice to meet you. In my experience it is VERY common for addiction therapists to have struggled with addiction. Nothing teaches you how to help other people heal like having done it yourself. I think this is especially true with addiction as they have an in-depth understanding of what the client is going through.

AG

PS My first T was also a victim of incest (which she told me at a critical point in our work without going into any detail) and it really helped. She really understood what I was going through. I'm a big believer in the wounded healer. Everyone has their stuff, but a therapist is hopefully someone who has healed enough and become self-aware enough to keep it out of the room when working with their client.

Thank you very much for the reassurances! It is new for me to work with a therapist with her specialties. She is terribly empathetic and so patient with me. It does help a lot. Maybe that scares me a little! Ok, it scares me a lot because now I don't really have any excuses to hold me back. I really hope that wounded healers can be safe, because if anything, I am one myself. (I'm not a therapist but I work with a hurting population in a helping profession.)