Dragon,
I’m not OP nor am I a clinical psychologist, but I’m a CBT therapist working within adult mental health, I treat common MH issues such as depression and anxiety disorders, so I can answer your questions if you’re interested (no doubt my response will differ from OP’s experience though)
“How do you deal with not liking someone?”
It’s actually incredibly rare I don’t like a patient. It’s a strange phenomena, but in my experience of being a therapist I’ve almost always found that even when I don’t really like someone to begin with, I always grow to like them! Maybe it’s because over time I can start understanding why they’re the way they are, which humanises them, plus I have more time with them to see their more enjoyable qualities rather than the things that give an instant ‘dislike’ response. In 99.9% of cases by the time I finish therapy I genuinely like and feel very warm towards somebody (I can’t even think of anyone that hasn’t happened with but I’m sure it might have occurred so I’m sticking just below 100%).
If I don’t like someone I just remind myself I don’t necessarily need to, I need to understand them well enough to help them, and convey that I’m listening, I care, and I respect them. I often will try and figure out exactly what it is I don’t like about them so I can challenge or understand it: maybe they remind me of someone who I used to really dislike at work, which isn’t their fault. Maybe they have bigoted or racist views, so I remind myself they’re a product of their environment and likely believe they’re in the right and that we don’t have to have similar ideals. Maybe they’re difficult personality-wise, which I can take into account while trying to understand what their life is like outside of the room and how others respond to them.
“Do you ever think 'if we met elsewhere we could have been friends'?”
Quite often, it goes hand in hand with the growing to like pretty much everyone. I’ve definitely worked with clients I’ve been sad to see leave and thought that in a different setting we’d become friends, it’s sad recognising that that won’t and can’t ever happen so I just remain thankful for the time we spent working together and what I’ve learned from them.
“Do you ever feel compassion fatigue?”
Yes, usually just mild at the end of a difficult day or week where I can’t be bothered to talk to anyone or I’m struggling with the last person of the day to fully be present. I experienced it really badly last winter as I was going through depression and some difficult personal events, and I ended up going off sick for a month as I recognised I didn’t have the capacity to care about anyone or anything at that time, which made me an ineffective and potentially dangerous clinician.
“How do you deal with someone crying?”
Stay focused on what they’re talking or crying about rather than the tears. Tissues are accessible and visible but I don’t rush to hand one over as that can feel a bit ‘stop crying’, and makes it seem like I’m uncomfortable with it. Crying is such a normal healthy human experience. And if I interrupt it the client might leave the emotional state they’re in where I can maybe access thoughts and feelings they keep hidden at other times.
“How do you work with trauma?”
I treat PTSD using CBT (you can google for info on what’s involved). I don’t work with ‘trauma’ so to speak unless it’s developed into a diagnosable disorder such as PTSD.
Happy to answer any more! Sorry to piggy back OP. I guess I could start a threat but I’m a little wary of not knowing all of the answers haha.