Feeling skillful and engaged in each session is something for which to strive. Achieving this can make this work can be so gratifying. When you welcome your client into your office you want to feel and exude confidence. You show up with the intention to:

• Meet your clients where they are at
• Build authentic connection
• Listen with full presence
• Get clarity about the client’s needs and longings
• Help your client feel seen and understood
• Give your client the sense they are in good hands

These actions allow you to build a trusting, honest, and rich environment, an ideal space for self-exploration and growth. This work is a great privilege and also an incredible responsibility.

Sometimes your most skillful self isn’t able to show up and lead the session. This can happen to the best of us and it can feel just terrible. Your work, which relies on you being able to connect and put others at ease, may start to suffer. You may begin to notice symptoms of professional distress, including:

• Fatigue and resistance to having to show up for others 
• Looking at your schedule with a sense of dread
• Struggling to connect genuinely with your clients
• Confused about what your clients want and need
• Uncertainty about whether you can actually help others
• Believing you’re supposed to have it all together or you’re an imposter

These things can feel awful. But you are not alone. Research shows that 25% of therapists experience periods of compromised mental health at some point in their career, and this is true across all theoretical orientations.

What matters most is that you listen to your symptoms and the longing beneath them for a better way. Scott Peck famously said, “Symptoms are an invitation to deeper awakening.” It’s actually a great sign if you are noticing distress and looking for assistance and fortification. I’d like to help you find the support you desire.

There are many ways for you to get the support you desire in being the best therapist you can be. I offer a variety of trainings and workshops, both online and in person. Whether you want to brush up on your basic skills or fine-tune your clinical expertise, from empathic resonance to skillful psycho-education, my trainings will support your advancement.

Maybe you want to spice up your sessions by offering your clients interactive tools for learning and embodying skillful living or understanding. I have a selection of products and handouts that allow you to actively teach psychological wisdom in each session.

Would you like more personal guidance and support specific to your current growing edge? Consultation or mentoring can help you get unstuck from a difficult clinical challenge or clarify the next steps in your professional advancement. I can offer an objective and supportive perspective to help guide your work in the direction you would like it to go.

You might also consider investing in your own personal and professional growth by participating in individual therapy. I absolutely love helping both young and seasoned therapists expand their self-awareness and hone their skillfulness in self-care.

And then there is group support. My Professional Growth and Advancement groups meet both online and in person. These groups will surround you with colleagues who also know the challenges of balancing the personal with the professional. Together you can be supported and support others in the pursuit of excellence as a therapist.

I welcome you to find the just-right way for you to get the support you need in being your most awesome therapist possible.