Why Sensitive Therapists Shouldn't Work With Everyone

Can you be a good therapist and make choices about who you help based on what feels most aligned to your needs, personality, or interests?  For HSTs, there is so much benefit in narrowing your clinical focus to help your clients more effectively while you feel more satisfied as the clinician.  This work is often so draining for us, it’s paramount to bolster against burnout in every way you can.     

Why You’re Actually Not Available Between Sessions as a Sensitive Therapist

Being a therapist takes a significant amount of energy and focus, but friends and family don't usually understand what your work entails.  It’s important to protect the space around the work so you’ll have the internal resources you need to show up fully for your clients, get your admin work done, process and decompress afterward, and then have something left over for yourself. Are you often pulled between work and personal life? 

6 Ways to Reduce Referral Overwhelm When Clients Aren’t a Good Fit or Your Practice is Full

Finding referrals can be exhausting and tug on your heartstrings. Whether your caseload is full or an inquiring client isn’t a good fit (presenting concerns, location, fee, insurance, etc.), you may feel the pressure to find the exact right referral for everyone.  What can you do instead?  This post shares 6 ways to release the burden of finding referrals for everyone who reaches out while also being responsive and helpful.

Are Your Needs as a Sensitive Therapist Being Ignored?

When you create a practice or therapeutic style that honors your needs, the work can feel more sustainable.  When you feel supported, you can more easily support your clients.  Making changes may make your services unavailable to some folks and that’s okay!  You can’t help everyone, especially if your needs are ignored, but you can help some people in deeply profound ways.  

Being a Therapist Changes You, For Better and Worse

If you knew then what you know now, would you still choose to be a therapist? Reflections on the impact of being a therapist and how this role changes you and impacts your personal relationships. This work is special, it’s just mixed with the dread of doing paperwork, the exhaustion of the daily emotional rollercoaster you go on session to session, the self-doubt of being enough for your clients, and the upkeep of running a private practice or navigating the politics of a group/agency setting.

Is Referring Clients Out the Key to a Sustainable Practice?

During the screening process, are you trusting your intuition to refer clients out? Initial contact with clients can seem so insignificant compared to the therapy itself, but this process is a critical part of maintaining a sustainable practice. You and the client must match on availability, fee, presenting issue, and other factors. Maintaining your boundaries is the compassionate choice and in the best interest of the client.

How Do I Prevent Burnout as a Pre-Licensed Therapist (or anytime)?

After graduation, you’re searching for a counseling field placement that doesn’t leave you feeling burned out before you even get licensed and fully start your therapist career. All the usual places (agencies, hospitals, schools) come with demanding caseloads and productivity standards. Thinking outside the box on the path to complete your hours will be the key to sustainable work as a therapist now and in the future.

Do I Still Want to Be a Therapist?

Sensitive Therapists need time to process the impact of doing this work and to nurture yourself on client days. Just focusing on the administrative side of being a therapist and only getting self-care time on the weekends is not sustainable for someone who feels deeply and has a high level of empathy. Carve out moments to release, digest, and recharge as often as you can.

Is Passive Income Right For You as a Sensitive Therapist?

Common roadblocks for Sensitive Therapists are how to work less while maintaining your current income, earn more income when you’re maxed out on your capacity for 1:1 clients, or find other ways to be fulfilled in your work. These roadblocks often bring up thoughts about “passive income” projects to find a more energetically/emotionally sustainable or financially stable way to be a therapist, but is that the right solution for you?

5 Reasons to NOT Schedule Back-to-Back Sessions as a Sensitive Therapist

Back-to-back sessions are a Highly Sensitive Therapist's worst nightmare. Your mind doesn’t have time to process all your session details and your nervous system never gets a chance to decompress from the stimulation. If you’re on the emotionally spongy or empathic side, you’ve also picked up some of your clients emotional “residue”. With too many sessions crammed into one day, you leave work drained, frazzled, irritated, or on the verge of burnout. This article dives into the specifics of why too many sessions and not enough downtime will leave you feeling depleted.