Should I become a therapist?

I recently told my therapist that another therapist had told me I would make a good therapist. I'm not sure what reaction I really expected, but whatever it was, it wasn't the one I got. My therapist laughed. A lot. Like, a lot, a lot. I'm talking a really long time. 

At that moment I didn't know whether the laughter was because he agreed I would make a good therapist, or if the idea was so ludicrous he could barely stay in his seat. I was leaning toward the latter reason.

When we did eventually clarify his thoughts on the matter, it turned out that I was wrong. The same thought had occurred to him at some point and he figured I might make a good therapist too. And that surprised me. Mostly because I've told him all sorts of utterly unrepeatable things, many of which do not cast me in the best of lights. I've also, at times, had moments in therapy of which I'm less than totally proud. I have often not made his life easy. Not by a long shot.

It's quite heartening when somebody who knows where the bodies are buried seems to think you can be trusted among the living. I'm not sure myself. On the positive side, I am very interested in therapy, and I do seem to have the kind of temperament and demeanor which encourages people to share things with me, almost in a pseudo-therapist kind of way. I've gotten used to the fact that near strangers will tell me dark secrets and then sort of wander off satisfied at being unburdened. I enjoy listening to people in that way, and I'm pretty practiced at sharing in the pain or the sadness or the guilt or the fear of others. I enjoy connecting with people and sharing those deeper moments with them.

I've even accidentally therapisted a therapist before. During a session with a previous therapist, I quite nonchalantly, and without any thought at all looked at her during a lull in the conversation and asked her“what feels most useful to talk about?”

She just stared at me, probably wondering if I was mocking her, and then we both cracked up laughing. I wasn't mocking her at all, I'd just kind of slipped into feeling as though I were the one who should be asking the questions, and that was the question she always asked, so it was the one that first came to mind while I was on auto-pilot.

I have also played therapist with my cats and my dogs. I have asked how our relationship feels between us. I have inquired as to whether or not they are feeling anxious. I have suggested we explore their feelings on a deeper level through mindfulness. Most of the time they fall asleep during our sessions, but I'm okay with that...

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