[kkoncevicius]

That might also be related to the occupation of your therapist - being, well, a therapist. Seems like almost everyone would choose an older person as their therapist; and conversely, hardly anyone, at, say 40 years old, would go see a 20 year old therapist. So their career really start taking off at maybe 40 and it steadily climbs up.

[brundolf]

Maybe, though I don't think he's the type who sees his career as the first or second most important thing in his life

[UncleOxidant]

Maybe not, but it's how he derives his income. Having a stable income really helps with outlook. Conversely, being worried about where your income might be headed in the future is going to negatively effect your outlook.

[germinalphrase]

My wife is a therapist. All the therapists in her office are - always - busy, even if they’re 22.

People seek all kinds of qualities in a therapist. “Older and wiser” is not a ubiquitous appeal.

[kkoncevicius]

Nice coincidence - my wife is also a therapist. But to get there, in my country, you need a lot of work and training, you cannot really be a 22-year old therapists. First you have to finish psychology (ages from 18 to 22), then finish Master's degree in psychology (22 to 24) and then another 6 years (24-30) for psychodynamic psychotherapy training coupled with regular therapy for yourself under a more experience advisor. And finally after that you can start calling yourself a psychotherapist.

Here at 22 you can be a psychologist, which is a different thing. They have a lot of work - intelligence tests, emotional support, advice about social stress. But they don't do therapy.

[germinalphrase]

Your can become a therapist here (Minnesota in USA) with 4 years (undergraduate bachelors degree) plus 2 years Masters degree (for example, social work or marriage and family counseling).

There are - of course - higher levels of training and certification, but that gets you in front of people and diagnosing.