To wonder how therapists cope if their client discloses something horrible?

[Playingatreallife]

if they were told something that made them dislike their client, would they just carry on?

I work in mental health and very often hear about my client’s traumatic and upsetting past or current feelings and emotions. I have an excellent manager, clinical supervision and colleagues that I can turn to when I need to offload or decompress after a difficult session.

As for telling me something I would dislike, I can accept what they have told me, that they must feel they have a good working relationship with me to tell me. I may not like what they have told me but it would not affect the way I work with that person. The quality of the support I give them isn’t conditional on me liking them or their values.

I was just thinking the same about lawyers, OP, especially ones defending clear monsters (like Wayne Couzens or similar). I absolutely do get all the rational arguments behind why they need legal representation, but on a personal level it must be horrible.

My friend, a very experienced and prominent therapist, once said that cases she struggles most with is where the client has a specific and very precise request for therapy (say, coping with marital infidelity), but in the course of therapy she understands, for example, that there's an very worrying issue the client doesn't even think is a problem (for example, client is emotionally abusive to their children).

We have regular supervision.

Yes we take it to supervision.

Priests are similar. They hear so much, and have to have someone to turn to, so they can offload.