When Helping Hurts: The Overlooked Link Between Personality Disorders and Caregiving Careers

Some who choose caregiving roles may be unconsciously using their work to manage deep emotional needs, placing themselves and those they serve at great risk

Natalie C. Frank, Ph.D August 15, 2025

Stock Images [CC BY-ND 4.0]

In the public imagination, caregiving professions are populated entirely by selfless individuals motivated by pure altruism. Nurses, therapists, social workers, teachers, clergy, first responders, the people we call in our most vulnerable moments, are assumed to be pillars of compassion and emotional stability.

But beneath that cultural ideal lies a more complex psychological truth. Some individuals drawn to helping roles may be seeking more than a paycheck or a noble mission. They may be unconsciously using the structure and validation of their work to regulate emotions they cannot manage internally themselves.

This hidden motivation does not mean their care is fake or their intentions malicious. It does, however, open the door to a nuanced but critical conversation: the interplay between personality disorders and the choice to enter caregiving fields. It is a topic rarely addressed in professional training and almost never acknowledged publicly, yet it has far-reaching consequences for workplace dynamics, patient outcomes, and the well-being of the caregiver.

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