🎶 “We call this thing Normal” 🎶

I like BTS's new album, Arirang, way more than I expected to.

(It's all about the girl groups for me. Precision. Professionalism. Hair-ography. The boys could never.)

But Arirang is different. BTS uses several songs on the album to criticize the industry machine and stans that got them this far.

Therapists, if all we do is describe our industry's pitfalls to each other, that stuff will continue to stay the norm: 

• Therapist overwhelm

• Exhaustion and hazing

• Fighting with insurance companies

• Competing with giant advertising firms

And now we can add…

• Complaining about it to each other on LinkedIn, Facebook groups, and reddit.

🎶🎶 “Yeah we call this shit Normal.” 🎶🎶

Therapists are the most important tool in the therapy room. If we are not well, our clients and our loved ones are the ones who feel it. 

Let the online gurus spend their days fighting The Great Battle of AI Thought Leadership. You can even partner with and join the movements of the thought leaders you respect.

But while work together to make our voices heard, remember:  

Professional contentment transcends the change in your Psychology Today referrals.

You can develop systems to weather new seasons of stress without falling all the way into the burnout pit.

A regular rhythm of prevention and recovery is the most realistic way to honor your calling.

Some suggestions?

1. Decide that lunch isn’t optional.

2. Word of mouth referrals will beat a cold-call from PT every time. So get really good at the modality you and your clients like the most!

3. Reduce the traumatic details you elicit when in session. EMDR training helps with this, but it’s not your only option!

4. Celebrate your client’s progress; take time to enjoy the signs of YOUR personal impact on others.

5. Try allocating some of your CEs to train on practical skills, like documentation, efficient practice systems, or intake and discharge, anything that gives you a boost of confidence and relief! Your school years probably didn't teach you that and your training settings might have skipped this stuff completely!

Oh, and sing at the top of your lungs whenever you can. (Pretend I wrote something really smart about your vagus nerve here.)

It might seem like I'm prescribing "individual solutions" for "systemic problems" here, but that's not my goal. I just want you healthy, energized, and focused for the system-level fights ahead. And for the family, job, and YOU that you're responsible for right now.

So hit me up and tell me what you're listening to while you sharpen your skills (and your claws, lol).