My Job and My Career Path: Background

So, in response to a comment yesterday about my research work, I figure that I should probably just explain all of this. Here's the situation with my work life:

I currently work 20 hours per week as the Project Manager (PM) of a large research project that involves multiple universities across the country. I work for three faculty members, one of which is my advisor. My involvement with this project started almost two years ago, when I took a class that involved hands on training doing interviews for the project. They asked me to coordinate the interviews done by other students and clearly liked my work. When I returned from Israel over a year ago, my advisor asked/told me that I would take on the role of PM. She said that they'll pay me fabulously (aka $20/hour which is pretty good for a grad student) and that they'll publish with me. They also pay my tuition and health insurance.

My research is something very different, something which I am very passionate about, but which involves sexual violence. I am very committed to this work, but my therapist thinks that it might be a bad idea for me to be doing it because it keeps me engaged with the topic instead of letting it go. Personally, I feel very strongly about the imporance of doing this work, and I think that it gives to me as well as being draining at times.

My advisor wants me to write my dissertation using the data from the project that I work on with her. Whether or not I do it, I still will work on it at least until this summer, and even longer if I really want to get publications out of it. The project is a really big career opportunity for me, which provides me not only with a great jump into being a professor, it also sets up space for me to be qualified to work as an administrator at a college campus.

However, all of this is really stressful. My therapist today confirmed what Kathy and I had been discussing - that graduate school and working in the academy trigger PTSD symptoms. She asked me today to think about other options, and honestly it is hard for me. I can picture working for a not for profit, but I imagine that the stress level there would be no better, if not worse. Maybe I could picture being a psychologist, but I want to work on a more macro level. I could picture being a writer, although that's a really risky business to get into without the academy credentials and support. Plus, I honestly love teaching; I would miss it. My story is nothing like the picture; or well, I guess it could be if I stick with it. But, I might be looking at making a loop and starting over with something different.