I used to think one more training would finally make me feel ready.
When I was a new therapist, I was desperate to feel confident in the work I was doing. The uncertainty and ambiguity was hard. I took every training or CE workshop I could find that might give me the confidence to sit with a client.
I took EMDR trainings, ERP workshops, and even audited some trauma classes I had in grad school.
They were all helpful and I learned a lot. But here's what I noticed:
The training would end and I'd feel energized for a week. Then I'd sit across from a client whose anxiety didn't look anything like the case examples from the workshop, and I'd be right back to feeling stuck.
Because trainings teach you a framework. They don't teach you this specific person.
Real clients are messy. Anxiety shows up differently in every room. Depression doesn't follow a script. Every person is different, and that complexity is what makes this work so hard and so important.
Where I actually grew the most wasn't in trainings. It was in consultation and supervision, when someone helped me take what I'd learned and apply it to the specific human being sitting in front of me. That's a completely different skill than knowing a protocol and has been the most valuable investment in my career.
What was the thing that actually moved the needle for you early in your career?