How to stay motivated and confident during tough times?

Hi Mel!  I'm Maya, a fully licensed psychotherapist here on the Better Help platform.

Being an intern in any profession can be a stressful transitional time in life.   I'm glad you wrote in with your concerns.  You seem to feel that your lack of confidence is due to past issues, and that it's being mistaken as a lack of motivation, at your workplace.  If I understand that correctly, well you are absolutely right, a lack of confidence is not the same thing as a lack of motivation.  Even if if you do actually struggle with both of those issues, luckily they can be worked on in therapy! Likewise you can work on improving communication with your supervisor, so that he or she can come to a better understanding of what your strengths and challenges actually are and are not. I specialize in all of these issues and and would be happy to work with you. There are at least 101 ways to stay motivated and confident... during "tough times" or during easier times too!  Just one of many ways is by the use of something called "positive affirmations" which you can look up online.  I recommend the books by Louise Hay on the topic!  They are easy to read and practical!  

A lack of confidence is sometimes related to a self esteem issue. A lack of motivation often ties in with a self-discipline problem, or with a need to find some meaning and purpose in life.  If past issues seem to be preventing any self-improvement effort you make from coming to fruition, its possible you may have been to some degree traumatized by past experiences.  If so, then specialized trauma therapy may be needed.  I do not happen to offer that type of therapy, but it is available here online or you could seek in-person counseling.  Even self-help books on any of these topics might be of some benefit to you, although of course I hope you'll join us here on BetterHelp, because you're right... these issues can be deep rooted and challenging to resolve with self-help efforts alone.  Tarot reading is a form of self help in a way, so let's talk about that since you mentioned it. 

This might come as a surprise to you, but I'm a tarot card enthusiast myself!  That's one of the reasons I decided to reply to your question.  That said, I do not read the cards in a "fortune telling" manner though, because I do not think that's at all helpful.  I believe that the future is already mapped out in some way. I believe that people CREATE their future, as they go along!  The future does not happen to us, Mel!... WE happen to the FUTURE!  That's my personal belief, anyway.   So how do I use or "read" the tarot, then?  I use the deck of cards for the purpose of building insight and personal improvement, as well as spiritual awareness.  It's a great tool for that, for many reasons.  If you are interested in using tarot cards that way, you don't need to go to a tarot reader, you can actually do it yourself!   The tarot book by Carl Japikse called "Exploring the Tarot" may help.  It's easy to understand.  And if you are interested in doing "shadow work" I'd suggest the book titled "Jung and Tarot, an Archetypal Journey" by Sallie Nichols. It's not a light read, but worth the effort.   At any rate, it was very responsible of your tarot reader to refer you to a "psychologist," but do be aware that psychologists are only one type of therapist.  There are other types of therapists/counselors too, such as clinical social workers, occupational therapists and counselors, licensed personal counselors, and marriage and family therapists.

Whomever you decide to work with, be sure to ask if they have experience in helping with the therapy goals you most want to reach.

Hope this helps.  Enjoy your journey!  Maya