--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life as a therapist is ruthless…" description: "\"Life as a therapist is ruthless; circumstances that are helpful to one neurotic may crush another.\" — Karen Horney" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/karen-horney-12931_circumstances_life-as-a-therapist-is-ruthless-circumst_205313.jpg" --- # Life as a therapist is ruthless; circumstances that are… ![“Life as a therapist is ruthless; circumstances that are helpful to one neurotic may crush another.” quote by Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/karen-horney-12931_circumstances_life-as-a-therapist-is-ruthless-circumst_205313.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/karen-horney-12931_circumstances_life-as-a-therapist-is-ruthless-circumst_205313.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/karen-horney-12931_circumstances_life-as-a-therapist-is-ruthless-circumst_205313.jpg) > “Life as a therapist is ruthless; circumstances that are helpful to one neurotic may crush another.” [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Therapists must recognize that techniques helping one client may harm another, due to differing personalities. **In simple terms:** Therapist methods affect people differently. Key Takeaway Tailor approaches to each client. Themes psychology individual differences ethics Mood reflective cautious Type advice clinical When to use this quote - counseling sessions - clinical training - case consultations Key Concepts neurosis therapeutic alliance Questions to Reflect On - How can you assess a method’s suitability for a new client? - What safeguards prevent harm? A Different Perspective One size does not fit all; effectiveness varies with client. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances/) [Crush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crush/) [Helpful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helpful/) [Helpful Neurotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/helpful-neurotic-2133360/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Neurotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neurotic/) [Ruthless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruthless/) [Ruthless Circumstances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ruthless-circumstances-2133359/) [Therapist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapist/) [Therapist Ruthless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapist-ruthless-2133358/) [Therapists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/therapists/) ## Related quotes > [To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/to-be-tested-is-good-the-challenged-life-may-be-the-best-therapist/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [Therapist’s dilemma: those who need help the most, run the farthest from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kellerman/therapist-s-dilemma-those-who-need-help-the-most-run-the-farthest/) [Jonathan Kellerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kellerman/) > [If everybody in the world saw a therapist, we would have a better world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/if-everybody-in-the-world-saw-a-therapist-we-would-have-a-better-world/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [The therapist does not treat patients by simply giving them another set of beliefs. He or she tries to help them see which kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/the-therapist-does-not-treat-patients-by-simply-giving-them-another/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [One reason I can be more tolerant than most is that as a therapist I have the advantage of information about my patients that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-loy-mcginnis/one-reason-i-can-be-more-tolerant-than-most-is-that-as-a-therapist-i/) [Alan Loy McGinnis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-loy-mcginnis/) > [My concept of an advice giver had been a therapist or a know-it-all, and then I realized nobody listens to the know-it-alls. You turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/my-concept-of-an-advice-giver-had-been-a-therapist-or-a-know-it-all/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Surely a good therapist should produce a Dorian Gray-style portrait from under the couch so the patient can see the person they really are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosamund-lupton/surely-a-good-therapist-should-produce-a-dorian-gray-style-portrait/) [Rosamund Lupton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosamund-lupton/) > [I teach people to be flexible, scientific and logical in their thinking and therefore to be less prone to brainwashing by the therapist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/i-teach-people-to-be-flexible-scientific-and-logical-in-their/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [There are more than enough people with serious mental issues who really do need professional help without all the other Toms, Dicks and Harriets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/there-are-more-than-enough-people-with-serious-mental-issues-who/) [Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/) > [“Some expect persons to care for themselves. Sometimes therapists go too far in expecting an individual to perform self-care; some individuals prefer to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-gillen/some-expect-persons-to-care-for-themselves-sometimes-therapists-go/) [Glen Gillen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-gillen/) > [I know there must be something I should explore about that with my therapist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-messing/i-know-there-must-be-something-i-should-explore-about-that-with-my/) [Debra Messing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-messing/) > [Let me tell you, if your marriage is in trouble, skip the therapist and find a psycho. Nothing brings people together faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-edelstein/let-me-tell-you-if-your-marriage-is-in-trouble-skip-the-therapist-and/) [David Edelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-edelstein/) > [It's always hard for me to find a therapist who is a black woman or even a woman of color. It's something that we've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-parker/it-s-always-hard-for-me-to-find-a-therapist-who-is-a-black-woman-or/) [Morgan Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-parker/) > [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/) > [The work is important and essential and I've had a therapist myself for decades and it's important work, but I knew that I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-carlin-mccall/the-work-is-important-and-essential-and-i-ve-had-a-therapist-myself/) [Kelly Carlin-McCall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-carlin-mccall/) ## More by Karen Horney > [“The fact that compulsive drives for success will arise only in a competitive culture does not make them any less neurotic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/the-fact-that-compulsive-drives-for-success-will-arise-only-in-a/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [It would not be going too far to assert that ... conflict confronts every woman who ventures upon a career of her own and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/it-would-not-be-going-too-far-to-assert-that-conflict-confronts-every/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [There is no good reason why we should not develop and change until the last day we live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/there-is-no-good-reason-why-we-should-not-develop-and-change-until/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [“For the analyst it is a source of never-ending astonishment how comparatively well a person can function with the core of himself not participating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/for-the-analyst-it-is-a-source-of-never-ending-astonishment-how/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [The view that women are infantile and emotional creatures, and as such, incapable of responsibility and independence is the work of the masculine tendency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/the-view-that-women-are-infantile-and-emotional-creatures-and-as-such/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [When one begins, as I did, to analyze men after a fairly long experience of analyzing women, one receives a most surprising impression of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/when-one-begins-as-i-did-to-analyze-men-after-a-fairly-long/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [Thou shalt free thyself from convention, from everyday morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/thou-shalt-free-thyself-from-convention-from-everyday-morality/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [“The tenacity with which the neurotic adheres to any attitude is a sure indication that the attitude fulfills functions which seem indispensable in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/the-tenacity-with-which-the-neurotic-adheres-to-any-attitude-is-a/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [“A perfectly normal person is rare in our civilization.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/a-perfectly-normal-person-is-rare-in-our-civilization/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [Rationalization may be defined as self-deception by reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/rationalization-may-be-defined-as-self-deception-by-reasoning/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [If I couldn't be pretty, I decided I would be smart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/if-i-couldn-t-be-pretty-i-decided-i-would-be-smart/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [Through the eclipse of large areas of the self, by repression and inhibition as well as by idealization and externalization, the individual loses sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/through-the-eclipse-of-large-areas-of-the-self-by-repression-and/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [“The pride in intellect, or rather in the supremacy of the mind, is not restricted to those engaged in intellectual pursuits but is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/the-pride-in-intellect-or-rather-in-the-supremacy-of-the-mind-is-not/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [Is not the tremendous strength in men of the impulse to creative work in every field precisely due to their feeling of playing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/is-not-the-tremendous-strength-in-men-of-the-impulse-to-creative-work/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [“Pride in many diverse ways is the enemy of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/pride-in-many-diverse-ways-is-the-enemy-of-love/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) [Explore all 51 Karen Horney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) ## More Circumstances quotes > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Although under particular circumstances, the violence method - any method - can be justified, nevertheless once you commit violence, then counterviolence will be returned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/although-under-particular-circumstances-the-violence-method-any/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/trust-is-about-keeping-commitments-but-in-many-instances/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [The fortunate circumstances of our lives are generally found, at last, to be of our own producing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-fortunate-circumstances-of-our-lives-are-generally-found-at-last/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [“The set of circumstances that justifies the use of deadly force is a situation of immediate danger of death or great bodily harm to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massad-ayoob/the-set-of-circumstances-that-justifies-the-use-of-deadly-force-is-a/) [Massad Ayoob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massad-ayoob/) > [My sister-in-law works for a group that supports orphanages in Cairo. She and her colleagues take care of children left behind by circumstances beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/my-sister-in-law-works-for-a-group-that-supports-orphanages-in-cairo/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [It's impossible to know who Donald might have been under different circumstances and with different parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/it-s-impossible-to-know-who-donald-might-have-been-under-different/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [When we watch a play under the standard circumstances, we've lost volition and time is passing. A still play feels like an existential threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/when-we-watch-a-play-under-the-standard-circumstances-we-ve-lost/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [Being positive helps you to keep away negative thoughts. And helps you to stand in adverse circumstances with the hope that in the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/being-positive-helps-you-to-keep-away-negative-thoughts-and-helps-you/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [It seemed to me that the human beings I met reacted pretty much the same to the same stimuli. Different idioms,yes. Circumstances and conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/it-seemed-to-me-that-the-human-beings-i-met-reacted-pretty-much-the/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [I don't think you would have missed that putt, but in these circumstances, I would never give you the opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/i-don-t-think-you-would-have-missed-that-putt-but-in-these/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [I used to think I could shape the circumstances around me, but now I know Jesus uses circumstances to shape me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/i-used-to-think-i-could-shape-the-circumstances-around-me-but-now-i/) [Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/) > [Instead of complaining about your circumstances, get busy creating new ones. You either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-complaining-about-your-circumstances-get-busy-creating-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 4,560 Circumstances quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circumstances/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life as a therapist is ruthless; circumstances that are helpful to one neurotic may crush another.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karen Horney" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/life-as-a-therapist-is-ruthless-circumstances-that-are-helpful-to-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Circumstances" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/life-as-a-therapist-is-ruthless-circumstances-that-are-helpful-to-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/karen-horney-12931_circumstances_life-as-a-therapist-is-ruthless-circumst_205313.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/karen-horney-12931_circumstances_life-as-a-therapist-is-ruthless-circumst_205313.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/karen-horney-12931_circumstances_life-as-a-therapist-is-ruthless-circumst_205313.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life as a therapist is ruthless; circumstances that are helpful to one neurotic may crush another.” — Karen Horney", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Karen Horney", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Life as a therapist is ruthless;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/life-as-a-therapist-is-ruthless-circumstances-that-are-helpful-to-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/life-as-a-therapist-is-ruthless-circumstances-that-are-helpful-to-one/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```