The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy

Therapists Struggling with Darkness

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Therapists Struggling with Darkness

Curt and Katie chat about how therapists are struggling during the pandemic. We looked at how client material impacts therapists. We also explored unique risk factors and protective factors. We talked about the stigma for therapists to admit that something is not okay as well as the tendency to move that conversation out of the public space (just go to therapy). We have some ideas about how we can better take care of ourselves and each other.

It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.

In this episode we talk about:

  • How we are struggling during the pandemic
  • Sitting with client’s darkness and how that impacts therapists even before the pandemic
  • The impact client material can have on therapists
  • The stigma around therapists having mental health concerns
  • Anxiety contagion, energy drain of working with depression
  • Impacts on libido, mood, suicidality
  • Unique risk factors for therapists
  • Risk factors for suicidality
  • The heaviness and suicidality that can enter thought processes
  • The shame and the simplification when therapy is the only suggestion
  • “We deal with some heavy shit.”
  • Taking the conversation about therapists struggles out of the social space (“go to therapy”)
  • The lack of research about therapists as a workforce, the client impact on therapist, or therapists as clients
  • Therapists as human beings in both private and public ways
  • The feeling of being stuck and not being able to talk about it when you’re a therapist
  • How legal and ethical concerns play a part
  • Having a job, having people around you can be protective factors
  • Isolation and lack of social support
  • Boundary issues, vagueness to keep others at bay
  • How therapists support each other (and the importance of social support)
  • The danger of feeling trapped, especially if you’re isolated
  • Practices to incorporate to reinforce resilience
  • How we consume information and how the people around you are perceiving the news can impact you
  • Self-assessment of risk factors, identification of protective factors
  • What actually helps when someone is struggling
  • The group responsibility as well as our individual responsibilities
  • How to manage community care without overburdening yourself
  • The importance of assessing capacity to support and give to our colleagues and friends
  • Creating reinforcements and structure for regular support

    • Resources mentioned:

    We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Please note that some of the links below might be affiliate links, so if you purchase after clicking below, we may get a little bit of cash in our pockets. We thank you in advance!

    Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapists Group

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    Relevant Episodes:

    Quarantine Self-Care for Therapists

    Therapist Suicide

    Suicidal Therapists

    Therapists in Therapy

    Toxic Work Environments

    The Mental Load of Therapists

    Structuring Self-Care

     

    Connect with us!

    Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapists Group

    Get Notified About Therapy Reimagined 2021

     Our consultation services:

    The Fifty-Minute Hour

    Credits:

    Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/

    Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano http://www.crystalmangano.com/

     

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    The Modern Therapist's Survival Guide with Curt Widhalm and Katie VernoyBy Curt Widhalm, LMFT and Katie Vernoy, LMFT
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