Others have it much worse than I do, so surely psychologists should be helping them instead of me, right?

Written by Dr. Nisha Sethi, Clinical Psychologist

September 2026

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Please note that the content below is for general information purposes only and should not be used as health advice. Please see your health professional for suggestions specific to your needs.

We hear the above statement about others being worse off, or a version of it, from many people whom we see. Indeed, people will tell us that they put off coming to see a psychologist because they believe that others are suffering much more than they are, so psychologists should be seeing those people, and not giving time to people whose problems are relatively not as bad. These same individuals may report a part of them that feels guilty for taking up our time.

When people share such concerns with us, we absolutely want to hear them out and explore them. Sometimes these concerns may be related to previous experiences a person has had (e.g., they have grown up in an environment where they were told not to complain or that what they felt was not important) or they may be related to certain beliefs they have about what psychologists do and who we help. The concerns may also stem from other factors. Wherever they stem from, learning about them and how they came about helps us to better understand you.

There has not been a single person who has sat in front of me in therapy where I have thought that their problems were not important. Further, I do not believe that the only people who can come to therapy are those who have it the worst. I believe that therapy is a space where people from all backgrounds and experiences can come to work on their mental health. I think of it like seeing our doctors – we don’t need to be in the worst shape to see our doctor. Indeed, sometimes it may be beneficial to see our doctors when things are not as bad so that they can help us prevent them from getting worse. And the same is true for many of the health professionals we may see.