10 Gratitude Counteracts Therapist Burnout & Fatigue

You bring everything you have to your client sessions.  But the fact of the matter is that some clients simply will not make the progress you so desire or even get worse.

This post is all about how the practice of gratitude counteracts therapist burnout and fatigue. The morale-dampening effects of experiencing clients’ deep suffering and lack of progress are realities we must all face. We can explore how gratitude may be a salve to this humanistic injury.

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0 Clarifying Client Values Using the “True North” ACT-Based Exercise

We can get lost in life. We could all use a bit of direction.

When it comes to helping our clients identify and clarify what really matters to them and live life in accordance with those values, we can sometimes become directionally challenged.

This post attempts to address the core question: “how do we engage our clients in meaningful discussion (and, of course, action) around what matters most to them in their lives?” We will explore this through clarifying client values using the “True North” ACT-based exercise.

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0 How to Mindfully Settle and Reset During Your Work Day: The 3-Minute Breathing Space

You’ve just finished a difficult session – your client was processing some very deep emotions around a traumatic incident from her childhood. When we, as therapists, turn toward brief practices like the 3-minute breathing space, we can help ourselves to mindfully let go, settle, and reset for the next client.

This post is designed to help mental health professionals take stock of and “reset” their thoughts, feelings, and intentions in between emotionally taxing appointments or throughout the normative challenges of our busy days.

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0 The Therapeutic Relationship Begins Before You Think

The therapeutic relationship can be considered the most important vehicle to helping your clients toward mental health improvements, healing, and growth. I propose in this post that the therapeutic relationship begins before you think.

It likely begins well before we have even confirmed our intake call or initial session.

Why?

Let’s explore the nuanced (and often hidden) process involved in how prospective clients come to be our actual clients. There’s much more going on than meets the eye.

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4 3 Key Principles to Help Integrate Self-Care Between Therapy Sessions

“We have about five minutes left for today,” you manage to squeeze in as your client abruptly switches to another topic.

Upon reaching the final wrap-up moment and saying your goodbyes until next week, what do you typically do?

Are you poised to write your progress note, use the bathroom, eat a quick snack, or make a phone call to insurance or a collaborating clinician?

Or perhaps you manage to do all of these at once, unbeknownst to the scouts at the Guinness Book of World Records. (I actually do know a therapist who does 3 out of 4 of these activities, and yes, one of them includes the bathroom. Please don’t think too hard about it though).

This post is all about the precious moments between our sessions and how we intend to use them. This is about 3 key principles to help integrate self-care between therapy sessions.

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