Therapists & Medical Professionals

Therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, doctors, front line workers, first responders – helpers and healers – you have a different set of circumstances you confront each day as you navigate the difficult trenches of your craft.

Not only are you confronted with some of the most horrendous, challenging, and frightening circumstances of the human condition, but you must do it daily against the backdrop of life demands and an ever changing case load with clinical presentations that test even the most experienced clinician in ways which shake you to the core.

You got into this line of work to help people. And now you find yourself asking, who is here to help me?

Even being armed with years of experience, training, clinical skill, and in depth knowledge to intervene in ways that often produce impactful, rewarding, and life changing results for the clients you work with, you are not immune to moments of confusion, uncertainty, self-doubt, and despair.

There are mistakes, missteps, losses, or unrelenting pressure and workloads that even the strongest and most resilient among us may start to buckle from the crushing weight of the daily emotional toll your work inflicts. There is also:

The current climate of social and racial injustice,

Political hostilities and division,

An unrelenting COVID-19 pandemic and the community polarization surrounding it,

An unwelcoming or toxic work climate,

Abusive or aggressive patients,

Or hostile interactions you receive for being a member of a socially marginalized identity.

You ask yourself, “How am I supposed to show up and do my best work under these circumstances?”

You are not alone.

Not only are helpers and healers doing some of the most challenging, dangerous, and emotionally exhausting work out there, but many of you are often coming into these professions based on personal circumstances that inform your work and desire to help and heal others.

In fact, helpers and healers have high rates of personal trauma and come into these professions with histories of mental health needs. Due to the nature of your work, you may also find yourself among the many helpers and healers whose mental health needs increase significantly upon entry into the profession and with continued exposure to challenging work and client situations.

The impact of your work may have you grappling with:

Imposter Syndrome & Self-Doubt

Imposter Syndrome is an internalized negative perception or belief that attributes your success or achievement to luck or some other factor outside of your knowledge, skills, or abilities. It can create feelings of apprehensive, anxiety, or stress that you will be "found out" as not being as smart or skillful as people think. It's a destructive force that erodes your confidence and feelings of competence and can impact how you feel about yourself and your ability to function at your highest levels at work. Hostile, unsupportive, micro-aggressive, and invalidating environments can also cause you to doubt your abilities and performance, amplify your feelings of low self-worth, and negatively impact your sense of belonging in your work settings. Women and members of racially and ethnically diverse groups are at particular risk, especially if they are among few to occupy those roles.

Burnout & Compassion Fatigue

Burnout is often the result of repeated work stress over time that leaves you feeling physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted. It may progress from feeling like you are treading water, to feeling pulled under water or drowning in stress and overwhelm. Burnout can impact every area of your life and relationships and make it hard to find motivation to continue doing your job or day-to-day activities. Compassion fatigue, often connected to burnout, results when your ability to care for others becomes too much to handle and you find yourself less concerned or indifferent to the suffering of others. Your constant exposure to pain and suffering increases your risk of not extending empathy to others - or empathy fatigue - which can make you a less effective and supportive clinician, and can increase feelings of guilt and shame.

Moral Injury & Secondary Traumatic Stress

Moral injury is often felt as a deep, shameful, soulful wound resulting from the feeling that despite your best and most heroic efforts, you were not able to make a difference in some way. It can leave you feeling hopeless, unable to forgive yourself, or an inability to feel effective as a helper or healer. It can often arise from ineffective, inefficient, chaotic, poorly managed, or under-resourced work environments that may leave you feeling powerless and unable to control or make a positive impact in the lives of people you serve. Secondary traumatic stress is often a constellation of symptoms, reactions, and experiences that can show up almost immediately upon witnessing or experiencing the trauma of another during the helping relationship. It impacts functioning and work performance due to repeated exposure to client pain and suffering on a daily basis.

Help for the Healer

I am here to walk with you on your journey towards personal and professional exploration, healing, and fulfillment.

I have been so honored to work with helpers and healers of all stripes during my professional career – and I’ve loved every minute of it!

My work with interdisciplinary teams in homes, hospitals, and ambulatory clinics informs my passion for supporting healers in doing the hard work you do in ways that also tend to your own emotional well being.

I have witnessed first hand the stress, strain, exhaustion, tears, and trauma that often impact helpers and healers and the many different ways they attempt to go it alone.

The socialization of helpers and healers often leave very little room to be human or vulnerable and share your hurts or seek out care when you need it.

Many of you will engage in unhelpful and even harmful behaviors to try and cope because the battle you are fighting is often done in private and alone.

There is a better way!

I invite you to contact me today to begin your healing journey.

You do not have to suffer in silence any longer.

The default strategy has been to keep doing the same thing over again expecting a different result because you’ve bought into the belief that as a helper or healer, you “should” be able to figure this out or handle this.

The truth is, you are human too, and reaching out for help and trying out new strategies for growth and healing is normal, healthy, and a perfectly reasonable response to the effects of stress and trauma.

You are just as worthy of receiving the same compassionate, responsive, non-judgmental care you provide others.

Let’s get started on your healing path today.

Helpers and Healers from Wilmington, NC to Williamsburg, Va, and all points in between from the North Carolina coast to the Virginia coast are welcome to call me today to get started in our confidential online therapy space.

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