09/04/2026
There’s something about a complaint that cuts deeper than almost anything else in this profession. And I think it’s because of the nature of the work we do!
We pour ourselves into our clients. Not just our skill... All of our energy, our care, our attention, our empathy, and of course, everything we know.
Every single appointment, we’re giving something of ourselves. And when a client comes back and says “I’m not happy”... it feels personal. Because it was personal! You gave them everything you had in that room, and it feels like they’re telling you it wasn’t enough.
Now, rationally, you might know that their dissatisfaction isn’t always about you. Maybe their expectations were unrealistic.
Maybe they were always going to be difficult to satisfy.
Maybe the result is actually good and they’re comparing it to a filtered photo on Instagram. You can deeply know all of that logically... and still feel totally gutted.
And I think the reason is this: When you work in a profession where you’re holding people’s vulnerability, where you’re trusted with their insecurities, where you’re literally changing how they look and feel about themselves... a complaint doesn’t just say “you didn’t do a good job.” It says “I trusted you with something deeply personal, and you let me down.”
That’s the message your brain hears, even if it’s not what the client is actually saying; and when we know the treatment outcome is actually objectively more than adequate.
That’s why it hurts so much!