--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Therapists need to have a long experience…" description: "\"Therapists need to have a long experience in personal therapy to see what it's like to be on the other side of the couch and see what they find helpful..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d5/irvin-d-yalom-1519_bits_therapists-need-to-have-a-long-experienc_1123295.jpg" --- # Therapists need to have a long experience in personal… ![“Therapists need to have a long experience in personal therapy to see what it's like to be on the other side of the couch and see what they find helpful or not helpful. And if possible, get into therapy at different stages of their life with different kinds of therapists just to sample a bit.” quote by Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d5/irvin-d-yalom-1519_bits_therapists-need-to-have-a-long-experienc_1123295.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d5/irvin-d-yalom-1519_bits_therapists-need-to-have-a-long-experienc_1123295.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2d5/irvin-d-yalom-1519_bits_therapists-need-to-have-a-long-experienc_1123295.jpg) > “Therapists need to have a long experience in personal therapy to see what it's like to be on the other side of the couch and see what they find helpful or not helpful. And if possible, get into therapy at different stages of their life with different kinds of therapists just to sample a bit.” [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Therapists benefit from personal therapy experience to understand clients’ perspectives and discover effective interventions. **In simple terms:** Therapists should experience therapy themselves. Key Takeaway Seek personal therapy at various life stages. Themes empathy self-awareness professional growth Mood reflective empathetic Type advice professional When to use this quote - clinical training - career development - personal growth - supervision Key Concepts psychotherapy experiential learning client‑therapist dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How has your own therapy shaped your practice? - What gaps remain after personal therapy? A Different Perspective Personal therapy may not reflect all client backgrounds. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bits/) [Couches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couches/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different kinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-kinds/) [Helpful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helpful/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kinds Therapists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kinds-therapists-3050274/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Mental health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mental-health/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Personal Therapy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-therapy-456379/) [Sample](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sample/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Therapist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapist/) [Therapists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapists/) [Therapists Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapists-need-456378/) [Therapy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapy/) [Therapy Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapy-different-3050273/) ## Related quotes > [Therapists need to have a long experience in personal therapy to see what it's like to be on the other side of the couch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/therapists-need-to-have-a-long-experience-in-personal-therapy-to-see/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Later on, I see how often therapists keep patients coming to them, not so much for the benefit of the patients but to satisfy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-balter/later-on-i-see-how-often-therapists-keep-patients-coming-to-them-not/) [Marie Balter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-balter/) > [Therapists need to give a depressed patient support and direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-cavett/therapists-need-to-give-a-depressed-patient-support-and-direction/) [Dick Cavett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-cavett/) > [Performing is my therapy, to become different people onstage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britney-spears/performing-is-my-therapy-to-become-different-people-onstage/) [Britney Spears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britney-spears/) > [Cooking and writing were my two forms of personal therapy and when I was doing over one or the other, I was in control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-o-porter/cooking-and-writing-were-my-two-forms-of-personal-therapy-and-when-i/) [Dawn O'Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-o-porter/) > [In my life I have had to work through problems of stigmatization and prejudice. 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Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [One reason patients are reluctant to work in a therapy group is they fear that things will go too far, that the powerful therapist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/one-reason-patients-are-reluctant-to-work-in-a-therapy-group-is-they/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [You know, I think everybody I've seen has come from some other therapy, and almost invariably it's very much the same thing: the therapist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/you-know-i-think-everybody-i-ve-seen-has-come-from-some-other-therapy/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Beginning therapists must learn that there are times to sit in silence, sometimes in silent communion, sometimes simply while waiting for patients' thoughts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/beginning-therapists-must-learn-that-there-are-times-to-sit-in/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) ## More by Irvin D. Yalom > [“ALAS, IF ALL HUMANS WERE WISE AND HAD MORE GOOD WILL THE WORLD WOULD BE A PARADISE NOW IT IS MOSTLY A HELL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/alas-if-all-humans-were-wise-and-had-more-good-will-the-world-would/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [I dream of a love that is more than two people craving to possess one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/i-dream-of-a-love-that-is-more-than-two-people-craving-to-possess-one/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Ümitsizlik özfarkındalık uğruna ödenen bedeldir.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/mitsizlik-zfark-ndal-k-u-runa-denen-bedeldir/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Therapists need to have a long experience in personal therapy to see what it's like to be on the other side of the couch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/therapists-need-to-have-a-long-experience-in-personal-therapy-to-see/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Beginning therapists must learn that there are times to sit in silence, sometimes in silent communion, sometimes simply while waiting for patients' thoughts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/beginning-therapists-must-learn-that-there-are-times-to-sit-in/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [If one is to learn to live with the dead, one must first learn to live with the living!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/if-one-is-to-learn-to-live-with-the-dead-one-must-first-learn-to-live/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Specialness as a primary mode of death transcendence takes a number of other maladaptive forms. The drive for power is not uncommonly motivated by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/specialness-as-a-primary-mode-of-death-transcendence-takes-a-number/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Exactly. We know that the great Goethe carried a copy of Spinoza’s Ethics in his pocket for a year. Imagine that—an entire year! And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/exactly-we-know-that-the-great-goethe-carried-a-copy-of-spinoza-s/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Hope is the worst of evils because it protracts torment.” “Your”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/hope-is-the-worst-of-evils-because-it-protracts-torment-your/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Mature love is loving, not being loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/mature-love-is-loving-not-being-loved/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [Absolute power, as we have always known, corrupts absolutely; it corrupts because it does not do the trick for the individual. Reality always creeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/absolute-power-as-we-have-always-known-corrupts-absolutely-it/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Indeed, the capacity to tolerate uncertainty is a prerequisite for the profession. Though the public may believe that therapists guide patients systematically and sure-handedly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/indeed-the-capacity-to-tolerate-uncertainty-is-a-prerequisite-for-the/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“Rollo May quipped that anxiety about nothing tries to become anxiety about something. In other words, anxiety about nothingness quickly attaches itself to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/rollo-may-quipped-that-anxiety-about-nothing-tries-to-become-anxiety/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“I often urge patients to project themselves into the future and to consider how they can live now so that five years hence they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/i-often-urge-patients-to-project-themselves-into-the-future-and-to/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [When people don't have any curiosity about themselves, that is always a bad sign.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/when-people-don-t-have-any-curiosity-about-themselves-that-is-always/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) [Explore all 184 Irvin D. Yalom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) ## More Bits quotes > [ Brad \[Dourif\] would tell himself that he was not intentionally trying to mimic Jack Nicholson in any way. I think that actually bothers him… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kirschner/brad-dourif-would-tell-himself-that-he-was-not-intentionally-trying/) [David Kirschner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kirschner/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. 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