Sensitive Therapist Blog

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You may want to help every client who reaches out, but putting empathy first often leads to therapist burnout. It’s important to consider how many clients you can support long-term when you set adequate boundaries.

Apr 6

Apr 6 The Battle of Sustainability for Therapists vs. Accessibility for Clients

The struggle of accessibility vs. sustainability burdens Sensitive Therapists who are highly empathetic and care deeply for their clients. You alone cannot solve the problem of mental health accessibility, but you can make sure you maintain a sustainable practice so you can offer care for years to come while honoring your own needs.

Jan 19

Jan 19 How I Filled My Practice Without Psychology Today or Networking 3 Years in a Row

Think outside the box to focus on referral sources that are aligned with your temperament and values. Typical marketing strategies like networking that work for others, may not work for you, and that’s okay. Track your referral sources to determine where to put your focus, time, and energy.

Dec 8

Dec 8 How to Navigate the Winter Worries of the Sensitive Therapist

Winter can bring specific challenges for the Sensitive Therapist such as overwhelm from holiday obligations, financial anxiety and irritability from changes in routine. It’s difficult to manage the expectations to support our clients, run our businesses and maintain family commitments, all at the same time.

Nov 9

Nov 9 How to Ease the Overwhelm of Getting Behind on Notes

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How behind on notes are you right now? Maybe it’s too painful to think about or you’re not even sure anymore. Whatever the amount, you are probably feeling a lot of anxiety and overwhelm right now. In this article, discover 5 ways to transform your note aversion and get support in clearing the backlog.

Oct 19

Oct 19 Two Ways Goal Setting is Overwhelming for Sensitive Therapists

Sensitive Therapists often embody one of two archetypes, each has strengths and challenges that make it difficult to move past the overwhelm in order to be able to accomplish daily or longer-term goals.

Sep 1

Sep 1 How to Manage Difficult Times While Feeling Compassion Fatigue

Now more than ever it’s important to focus on the essentials and prioritize preserving your energy. Being more empathetic and more aware of little details is a great asset as a Sensitive Therapist but can become overwhelming when life becomes stressful, scary, or we are supporting many clients through trauma. Our temperament makes us more prone to the effects of compassion fatigue or vicarious trauma, but thankfully we are also more susceptible to the beneficial effects of positive supports.

Aug 6

Aug 6 Time Off is Essential: Are You Getting Enough?

practice building, self-care

Taking time off is not optional, but essential to thrive in the work we do of supporting the emotional well-being of others. We have a greater need for downtime which means taking more time away to ensure our work is sustainable and doesn’t lead to burnout. This means planning ahead of time to ensure we have time away. Taking so much time off may bring up financial worries or feelings of guilt, but can be managed with budgeting and setting clear expectations with our clients.

Aug 3

Aug 3 3 Steps to Creating Business Goals Without Overwhelm

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In this guest post, Maegan Megginson, walks you through how to get clear on what your goals are and how to create your own flexible goal-setting system to honor your needs and capacity as a Sensitive Therapist.

Jul 21

Jul 21 Managing Money Without the Overwhelm

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Feel more calm and in control of your finances so you can take the time off you need to thrive as a Sensitive Therapist. Manage money with the overwhelm by using your Sensitive Strengths and these practical tips.

May 19

May 19 Why Sensitive Therapists Are Struggling Right Now

7 ways to honor our needs and calm down the overwhelm and exhaustion many Sensitive Therapists are feeling now. All therapists have been bearing the emotional toll of supporting clients as we ourselves experience a worldwide crisis, but Sensitive Therapists will have a unique reaction due to our heightened empathy, perceptive abilities, and need to process our experiences deeply. Going forward, we will need to reflect on what has already happened and give ourselves time to ease into the changes ahead in order to tame the overwhelm and exhaustion we’re feeling right now. Now more than ever we must go at our own pace, set strong boundaries in every area of our lives, and take time to rest.

Apr 14

Apr 14 Teetering on the Edge of Compassion Fatigue

Supporting clients who are experiencing some of the same emotions and uncertainties as we are could lead to overwhelm, compassion fatigue, and burnout. It’s vital that we set strong boundaries, take time to ground ourselves, create space between sessions, get support from our therapist communities, and take time off if we need to.

Mar 18

Mar 18 The Benefits and Burdens of Doing Teletherapy from Home

Migrating to teletherapy can feel overwhelming and uncomfortable for Sensitive Therapists. Navigating the tech challenges and therapeutic container are often the most difficult part, but there are benefits from seeing clients remotely that can actually save us time and energy.

Jan 16

Jan 16 How I Filled My Practice Without Traditional Networking or Psychology Today

Think outside the box when marketing your practice to avoid overwhelm and bring in clients in a way that’s aligned with your Highly Sensitive temperament.

Jul 8

Jul 8 4 Types of Vacations Every Sensitive Therapist Needs

practice building, self-care

Taking time off is not optional, but essential to thrive in the work we do of supporting the emotional well-being of others. We have a greater need for downtime which means taking more time away to ensure our work is sustainable and doesn’t lead to burnout. This means planning ahead of time to ensure we have time away not only for vacations and travel, but also for staycations to decompress, workations to catch up on administrative tasks and trainings to satisfy continuing education requirements. Taking so much time off may bring up financial worries or feelings of guilt, but can be managed with budgeting and setting clear expectations with our clients.

Jun 24

Jun 24 Is It Time for a Schedule Revamp?

When you look over your schedule for the next week or even the next few weeks, does everything feel sustainable or do you get an immediate sense of overwhelm and dread? Although it may seem impossible, there are ways to make your days run a bit smoother and to make sure what’s important to you makes it to the top of your priority list.

Jun 18

Jun 18 Do You Feel Guilty When Charging Your Clients?

practice building, systems

Being empathetic is a powerful clinical skill, but becomes a burden when we need to switch from clinician to business owner. Our guilt can make it difficult to enforce our business policies and collect fees. We prioritize the needs of our clients over our own leaving us at risk for financial distress and emotional burnout.

Mar 27

Mar 27 Why Being a Sensitive Therapist is Stressful on the Body

Our finely tuned nervous systems make Highly Sensitive Therapists more susceptible to the physical effects of overstimulation. Movement and physical self-care are essential practices to combat the effects of sitting and getting easily dysregulated.

Feb 13

Feb 13 How I Became a Highly Sensitive Person Specialist