Therapy for Therapists in Orange County, CA
You REALLY do not have to do this alone
Online Therapy for Therapists in California and Florida
Self-doubt and Countertransference do not have to get the best of you
You find yourself overwhelmed with the volume of clients you are seeing. It seems like there is a conveyor belt of clients, one after another, streaming through. You find yourself at the end of the day not having a single independent thought about your own life and your own goals because you have spent all your energy focusing on your clients and making sense of their presentation. When you come home to your loved ones, you don’t have much to share because you were focused on your clients and that’s confidential information but you also don’t want to listen to another person. You just want some time to yourself to think your own thoughts. Your friends and family don’t understand and they feel you are disconnected but in reality, you are trying to self-preserve.
You might be experiencing self-doubt as a healer yourself and experiencing imposter syndrome, self-doubt or maybe even wondering if you are in the right field. You find yourself comparing yourself to others: their training, their certifications, how much they charge. You wonder if you are good enough as a therapist. You may find yourself trying to do ALL the trainings so you can feel good enough. However, because of this self-doubt you may find it hard to implement some of the new tools you have learned because you are afraid of doing it wrong or messing up or horror of all horrors, “What if something happens and I don’t know what to do?”, “What do I do if my client is angry at me?”, “What do I do if they have a panic attack?”. These questions can lead to us having our own experience of fight or flight!
You might find yourself feeling reasonably competent with most of your clients but there are a few (or one, THE one) who compel you to question your abilities and knowledge. You might feel overwhelmed, intimidated, or maybe even a little frightened of this client. You want to seek supervision or consultation but you feeling worried about being judged and so you read up on what to do but you are feeling more and more alone and really wish you could just talk to someone without fears of repercussions.
You might be working with a client and finding yourself totally having reactions! You feel yourself having a reaction in the session and you are finding it hard to attune to your client because of your own thoughts and feelings about what you are experiencing in relation to your client’s experience. You know this is rooted in your own shit because you find yourself thinking about this client more than others, dreaming about themes related to this client, and maybe even dreading seeing them in the next session.
And where does this get you?
Considering if you are in the right field and considering another career
Feeling trapped and feeling like all of your energy is going to your clients
Feeling guilty that you have nothing left to give your family and friends
Having anxiety about seeing particular clients and this is affecting your sleep as well as your relationships because you find yourself having a hard time concentrating on what your loved ones are saying as you rehash a previous session
Feeling isolated because you are having anxiety and self-doubt but you are afraid to talk to your colleagues about it due to fears of being judged
The possibilities of being the client…
You find yourself satisfied with the volume of work. You are comfortable with your workload and have time carved out for self-care during your work day. You leave work feeling rejuvenated and effective and have capacity for your loved ones. You have time to engage with your coworkers/colleagues and maybe even thinking about things you want for your future and are eager to share this with your loved ones. You look forward to going home and learning about their day.
You feel confident and competent as a healer. You may not have all the answers but you know where to find them or where to get support. Generally, you feel like you are helpful to your clients and that you make a positive impact on them. You feel a sense of “flow” when in sessions and it feels so good to be doing what you love and what you know you are good at. You don’t compare yourself to other therapists because you feel confident in what you are able to bring to the therapy sessions with your clients.
You are able to lean into client’s with unique presentations. You feel comfortable being able to have tender or tough conversations with them and you feel confident you can access support if needed. You know that regardless of what happens in a session, you are doing your very best and you do not take it so personally if you and a client discover you are not a good fit for one another.
You are mindfully aware of when you are having a reaction to your client and you are able to make space for that. You honor your feelings about it and provide yourself with the self-care to process what is coming up for you. You have a good support system and know who you can go to for help if and when you need further help exploring your own counter-transference with less concern about feeling judged by others. You give yourself grace for having the feelings that you have and you have insight into where they stem from and how you can take care of both yourself and your client.
Together, we will look at what is bringing you into therapy. That could be personal issues that are not related to work (although they can bleed into our work). For some, they may seek out therapy to work through vicarious trauma related to being a healer and so EMDR could be an option to work through those concerns. For others, they may be noticing countertransference issues coming up and may want to work through those past experiences so that their work is less impacted.
Ultimately, I want this to be a safe place for you to show up and not feel judged. During my year of traineeship, I felt like I lacked support from my supervisors. While personal therapy is not supervision or consultation, I firmly believe in the importance of having others we can talk to about the nuances of the work we do. What we do is so, so personal. It can be challenging, beautiful and so rewarding but it’s important to have support otherwise the work can be very isolating.
Therapy for therapists can result in:
Improved confidence on how to handle situations in which you are having reactions to your clients
Balanced work and home life
Increased access to supports from colleagues and supervisors
Freedom from thinking about work outside of work hours; instead you’re focusing on your personal life and personal goals
Healers sometimes need help too. Support found here.
FAQs
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A therapist might seek therapy when they are experiencing things in their personal life such as depression, anxiety, and trauma symptoms. Additionally, being a healer is a unique career and it might be nice to talk to someone who knows the intricacies of being in this field.
A therapist may also seek therapy due to vicarious trauma in their work as a healer or may seek therapy due to issues around countertransference.
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No. While there are overlaps, therapy is intended to help the therapist in their personal life which also may include their work. For supervision, there are rules and regulations that are required per licensing boards.
There may be times a therapist processes their work in their personal therapy session but this is more around what is coming up for the therapist (as the client), whereas consultation or supervision is focusing on looking at the benefit of the therapist’s client.
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It’s a small community and it can happen! This would be something to explore at the beginning of therapy and on an on-going basis. Collaboratively, we can explore feelings around running into each other in public at mental health functions and collaboratively work around what is comfortable for you.
Clients are welcome to approach me if they want to say hello but it is perfectly acceptable to not do so as well.
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