Professional clinical counselors who sustain their careers over decades have literally thousands of clients come through their doors. There’s no denying that the job is rewarding, but the daily grind of helping people overcome trauma, loss, addiction and other “heavy” challenges can wear on even the most resilient of practitioners.
This begs a question: How do counseling professionals maintain their energy and motivation across the years? What does it take to stay fresh and inspired day in, day out, rather than growing stagnant over time?
Lynda Diane Noffsinger, a licensed clinical mental health counselor supervisor in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has found that her answer to this question is to stay curious. Noffsinger has been a professional counselor for close to three decades but says she is still learning every day. Just last year, she earned her credential as a certified eating disorder specialist.
Noffsinger has worked as a counselor in a variety of settings — at a mental health hospital, at a residential substance abuse program, at a college counseling center and in a private practice that she owned for 20 years. She says each role taught her not just new counseling skills and techniques but also more about herself.
For instance, when she worked briefly as a clinical counselor at a residential and outpatient eating disorders program, “I learned that I do not like an administrative role. I missed direct counseling, and I missed the community I called home,” says Noffsinger, a member of the American Counseling Association since 1999.
Most recently, in her role as a counselor at a practice that specializes in helping adults and adolescents with mood disorders, she immersed herself in a 30-hour online training program in dialectical behavior therapy. “From this work experience, I’ve learned I’m a clinician, and that’s what I do best. I have spread myself too thin at times, experienced burnout at times and, some days, I’ve ended the day bone-tired,” Noffsinger says. “However, since 1993, I wake up every workday and, as Viktor Frankl would say, I know what my purpose is and [that] my life has meaning. Twenty-seven years later, I still love the counseling profession.”
What does it take to stay fresh, inspired and energized over the long haul of a counseling career? Counseling Today recently collected insights about career longevity from American Counseling Association members of varied backgrounds and practice settings. Read their thoughts below.
What has kept you energized across the years of your career? How have you avoided stagnation? Add your voice to the conversation by leaving a comment at the bottom of this article.
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In my 33rd year of private practice, I am grateful for a profession where we can work as long as we choose and our clients often see working with an older counselor as a good thing.
Compared with the early years of my practice, my clients have become a more diverse group. Half my clients are under 40. They come from a variety of ethnicities, races, religions and sexual orientations. My days are both busy and varied — what one client brings to therapy looks very different from the previous client or the next one. Along with continuing to work on my professional skills, maintaining cultural competence and relevance helps keep my professional life from becoming too routine. My clients challenge me to see life from fresh perspectives.
For more than 15 years, I’ve been part of a small peer supervision group. The group has been an enormous gift. We support and challenge each other and provide different points of view. As someone in a solo private practice, relationships with peers have helped me avoid feeling isolated or stale.
In talking with newer counselors — and in reflecting on my own development — I’ve often thought that counselors prioritize caring for clients over self-care. That’s hazardous. I’ve learned not to be endlessly accommodating of clients’ need to reschedule if that would overload my schedule and leave me exhausted. And I’ve learned to become comfortable with the business side of my practice.
As a young counselor, I knew I wanted a practice where my clients and I would make decisions about our work without interference from insurance providers. Choosing not to sit on insurance panels meant that my practice grew more slowly. In the early days, I worked part time for nonprofit [organizations] to make ends meet. Having a vision of how I wanted to work has allowed me to build a practice where I can earn a comfortable living while also maintaining reduced-fee spaces for limited-income clients.
Someone told me early in my career that the world doesn’t need any more “burned out do-gooders.” I have taken that advice to heart, and I’m grateful to my younger self for the faith, patience and commitment needed to build a professional life that sustains me while allowing me to be useful to my clients.
— John Ballew, a licensed professional counselor (LPC) with a solo private practice in Atlanta
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What an honor it is to have been providing counseling services for over 35 years. I may be simply lucky, but I’d like to think that the fact that I have never experienced burnout and am still in love with my profession has more to do with an intentional emphasis on taking care of my own mental health.
There are a number of intentional activities that have sustained my balance, hope and energy for the profession over three-and-a-half decades. The most potent of these might be to stay in my own lane. Regardless of the job I do, I recognize that others will do it differently and not comparatively. I’ve both supervised and provided counseling for other professionals who find their energy zapped, their attitudes hostile and their work disrupted due to a comparative evaluation of colleagues as either better or worse in some area of the job.
An early mentor of mine encouraged me to realize that what another [counselor] does — except in cases of gatekeeping — is none of my worry and that others might rise if they feel support and care. This has led me to celebrate my peers’ work, to be open to learning from them, and to generally feel positive about heading into the workplace in each of the venues [in which] I’ve been honored to work. The closest I’ve come to burnout involved colleagues who were unjustly negative. It’s truly an art to turn that around.
This leads me to the second most powerful agent of enthusiasm building: learning. I am a lifelong learner. I deeply value finding new theory, technique, strategy and skill and, even more, a deeper understanding and wisdom regarding the human condition. I just reread, along with one of my Gonzaga classes, [Viktor Frankl’s] Man’s Search for Meaning to jump-start our trek of discovery this semester.
This is related to a third factor: I mix up my work and the populations I serve. I teach, provide community prevention services, crisis intervention, group work, couples and family work, and individual counseling with as diverse a set of individuals as I can in my community. It’s never dull, I am never bored, and I am constantly learning more about each person and about humanity at large. I’m constantly reminded to advocate where needed but to not turn my attention to embitterment.
— Elisabeth Bennett, a professor at Gonzaga University who has had a counseling practice treating couples, families and individuals in Spokane, Washington, for 35 years
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Sixty years ago, with new graduate degree in hand, I was hired as a school counselor. My counseling career had begun. Over the years, it has taken different shapes as jobs, settings, responsibilities and functions changed. Then, 21 years ago, I gave up tenure, license, income and position to retire. From the beginning to the official end of my active career, I have been energized, shaped, nurtured and sustained by an intense fascination with people.
My graduate education, combined with my fascination, shaped the way I interacted with people when I wore the hat of counselor or educator. Focusing on how people communicate and relate as casual friends continues to hold my attention. In both my professional and personal life, I have worked to be aware of that fuzzy line that separates intense conversation from therapeutic response, and I have worked hard to respect boundaries — both for myself and for the person or persons in the other half of the communication.
Early in my graduate education, I was given the maxim: “Counselor, know thyself.” It has been a guiding principle. Throughout my active career, regional and national conferences fed me with new ideas, refined techniques, and gave me rewarding interactions with professional colleagues and friends. I have always tried to have a group to whom I felt some accountability and who could assist me in that self-knowledge arena. In retirement, I have a regular group of friends to keep me grounded but without the professional expectation.
In retirement, I increased my volunteer activities in noncounseling situations that still required that I be a listening, caring individual. As example, for several years I facilitated a group of caregivers who met to share the pain and stress accompanying that role. I was facilitator, not group therapist. It worked for them and for me and was richly rewarding.
There came a day when I realized that my hearing loss and my inability to keep all the details of a conversation in my mind were affecting my facilitation skill. I knew myself. And I knew that my performance fell short of my expectations. Knowing myself means knowing what to do; it also means knowing when to quit.
I have had a good professional life. The fascination with people that moved me into my career remains high. It continues to sustain me in retirement. I hope it will continue to do so.
— Brooke B. Collison, an emeritus professor of counselor education at Oregon State University and a fellow and past president (1987-1988) of ACA
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When I started my counseling training in 1990, I knew I wanted to pair expressive arts therapies with counseling. That has helped me build a long-term career. We artists recognize creation as a metaphoric marathon versus a sprint. The first draft of an art project does not have the rich depth of the final product.
Artists recognize that the path of producing a work of art — like an actual marathon in comparison to a sprint — travels a variety of landscapes such that the path often doubles back on itself. You revisit various aspects of each work of art and massage each aspect until each art piece feels completed.
Others, of course, have spoken of the art of counseling. I add to their words as I invite the dance of creation, which is different than a marathon or a sprint because creation involves movement that is more varied than running. When we are schooled, we are advised to do our own therapy, and that is key.
As we do the energetic dance of relationship with our clients, those dances will stir the dances we have shut down. Stephen Porges’ polyvagal theory and Peter Levine’s understanding of trauma patterning help us recognize the burst of intense feeling that awakens moves that have been mired in shutdown.
When we lose interest in expanding our movement repertoire because we sense an intense awakening, we may push ourselves to work robotically and eventually burn out. When we risk the drama, we awaken a presence that brightens our time with our grandchildren [and] helps us appreciate the journeys of our adult kids and those of our lovers. Finding presence allows us to pause to snuggle with our cats and walk our dogs around the block.
— Dee Wagner, an LPC and board-certified dance therapist at The Link Counseling Center in Atlanta for 26 years
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What does it take to sustain a counselor over the long haul of a professional career?
For me, it has taken a lot of work on myself and paying attention to my needs outside of the counseling chair. If I have put my mask on first for oxygen, I am much more able to help others with theirs. When I haven’t done so, I struggle more, I stagnate more, and I find myself more frustrated. I also have truly come to believe that everything you ask a client to do, you better have done yourself. Whether that’s a sand tray therapy exercise, an expressive art technique, thought stopping, or getting to the gym, you have to do the work too.
What has kept you passionate?
There are two things that have really kept me passionate. First, every kid and family I have worked with and their willingness to show me their world and be vulnerable. This inspires me each day, and I try not to forget it. Second, supervising counselors-in-training, seeing them wade through this wonderful process, and being a part of their professional journey.
What are some lessons you’ve learned?
I think the biggest lesson I have learned so far is that I really feel like I know less and less each day. What I mean by that is I have learned to trust the process and pay attention to when I am trying too hard. When I first started practicing, I had no idea what this phrase “trust the process” meant. Now, I can feel it, see it, and have really come to appreciate it.
What does it take to stay fresh, day in, day out, and avoid stagnation?
Kids in the playroom always keep things exciting. Moreover, I try to remember that counseling is difficult for people, and I will never be doing them a service by merely making them feel good about themselves. Care is only shown in the tough stuff. Remembering that it is an honor and privilege to do this work always pulls me out of a jam in my own headspace.
— Quinn K. Smelser, an LPC, registered play therapist and doctoral candidate in counseling at George Washington University who has specialized in play therapy and trauma training. She is also a clinical instructor at Loyola University Maryland, where she teaches school counseling students and will soon offer play therapy courses.
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When you’re at the beginning of your career is probably when you have the most stamina. You’re excited, you’re pumped, and you have great ideas. You’ve spent years and years learning and deciding on what you’ll do, and you’ve been dreaming about the day when you’re finally there. You get the career, and the hardest part in the beginning is [that] you still have to learn some more. You must master the specifics about your colleagues, your location and your administration. More importantly, you have to learn what you’re capable of. The first few years is more learning, and you need the patience to dedicate the time to observe. Whenever a race is started, we all fight the instinct to jump out of the gate, but you need patience and persistence if your goal is long term.
As you’re learning the career and carefully collecting knowledge, it’s important to build up your reputation, also known as your street credibility or “street cred.” You build up your reputation by showing up, being reliable and completing tasks. Be careful not to overcommit because if you miss deadlines or turn in inferior work, that becomes your reputation. The learning years help you figure out what that perfect balance will be — how much you can handle, what you can complete quickly, and what requires more effort and dedication on your part.
Once you have a good reputation and you’ve figured out the key players, you build up your crew, your squad, your allies, etc. Finding this group will help you brainstorm when you’re stuck, vent when you’re fed up and considering quitting, and inspire you to keep going. How do you meet these amazing people? Professional organizations. Attending conferences, meeting like-minded professionals and joining committees is where you’ll find these treasures. Stay in touch, and make the effort to stay involved with each other in between conferences. Having good people in your inner circle is worth their weight in gold.
Lastly, create healthy boundaries. We are not only our careers. We are family members, we are artists, we enjoy hobbies, and we’re involved in our communities in different capacities. Make sure you are getting fulfilled in all areas of your life, and dedicate time to all the things that matter. Practice makes perfect, and you will find out the equations and quantities that work best for you.
— Margarita Martinez, an academic success counselor and curriculum chair for student development at Northern Virginia Community College who also serves as vice president for Latinx concerns for the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD), as secretary of the Virginia Counselors Association, and as co-chair of the strategic plan committee for the Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues in Counseling
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The person of the counselor is one of the most important elements in the counseling office. Participating in one’s own counseling, then, is crucially important. Creating a space to address one’s own past hurts and current relational self makes a counselor more able to see and to have compassion for themselves and for those sitting across from them.
When I participate in my own counseling, it helps me to remember what it is like to sit in the waiting room, in that awkward space of waiting, with ambivalence and yet longing to be seen. It helps me to remember the anxiety over what to say or how to answer a difficult question. But most importantly, tending to my own ongoing healing creates a generativity in me for this work. It produces more space within me to care for others in deep and authentic ways.
Also, we must continue to cultivate our own interests. This year I have been on a growth edge, learning how the feminine body holds stories in its fiber and its tissues. I have found a renewed sense of excitement as I learn. Learning can be fun, and it can also be restorative. Such learning, then, has a direct impact in the counseling room. When I am excited and growing, my work with others is much more fluid and energetic.
In addition to the above, gathering a good community of people around oneself bodes well for long-term health. Health is found in belonging. Counseling is often isolating, and it can be an easy place to hide. Such hiding and isolation are the stuff of guilt and shame and not of health and healing. Because of such potential workplace hazards, I have a consult group of friends and colleagues whom I respect. They are people who push deep into my life and into my work. They are people who challenge me and know my inner world. I would not be able to do the work I do without having these people — and others like them — in my life, caring for and loving on me, in my goodness but also in my messiness. Honesty with my consult group turns into honesty in my counseling office, all the while keeping me grounded in remembrance of how hard it is to be vulnerable.
— Laura Wade Shirley, a wife, mother of three, licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) and teacher in Washington state. She worked with children and families in community mental health for three years, prior to opening a private practice in 2003. Since 2006, she has also taught and supervised students at the Seattle School of Theology & Psychology in practicum and case conference classes.
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When I reflect on lessons learned to sustain my counseling career, two thoughts come to mind. The first is accepting who I am and who I am not. The second is the importance of a peer group whom I can be completely vulnerable with.
We often talk to our clients about being true to themselves. Previously, I was comparing myself to other counselors, which is not mentally healthy. I saw other counselors were receiving the most up-to-date training in their niche areas, and I wondered if I was doing enough. However, in checking in with myself, I was setting myself up for burnout. Comparing myself or going for training because I see others doing so, not because it is my area of specialization, is not what is going to sustain me for the long haul. However, I also know the importance of avoiding stagnation. It is then that I realized I need to attend my own training to keep my clinical skills sharp, while focusing on pursing additional training in my own area of focus. One cannot be an expert in everything. I had to be true to myself, just as we ask of our clients.
The second realization I had is how invaluable a group of peers is who will listen and not judge. In Irvin Yalom’s book Becoming Myself, he discusses a peer group he met with where they could talk about anything that might be impacting their practice while [still] respecting client privacy. This could range from personal problems to countertransference. While I am an advocate of counselors attending their own counseling as needed, I have also found my group of peers — whom I know I can have honest discussions with about myself, or them with me — to be the primary source of keeping me fresh and available, day in, day out, to my clients. Having peers who are available and nonjudgmental is fundamental.
Having a solid identity as a clinician and knowing who my people are, are major factors in not only sustaining my career but maintaining my inspiration and motivation.
— Deanna Johnston, an LPC who owns a private practice in College Station, Texas
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When I think about [career] sustainability, I think about feeling appreciated and respected by my immediate supervisor and included by my colleagues with whom I have a trusting and supportive environment. And, of course, I need to feel compensated for my work and feel that I am valued by the institution in terms of my pay. With those things in place, I’ve always felt that I can tackle the tasks at hand and be creative. That being said, I have enjoyed collaborating with colleagues, early career professionals and students at all levels — undergraduate, master’s and doctoral.
This is how I would define workplace sustainability and job satisfaction. These are my most critical factors in remaining in a career for the long haul. This has been especially true for people of color and members of other marginalized groups. Research findings have suggested that we are far too often not supported by our peers nor by our supervisors and, as a result, we become targets of workplace bullying and implicit bias. This has led to the exodus of many talented counselors [and] counselor educators who are pushed out of promising careers.
What keeps me passionate about the work are, by far, my mentoring experiences. In every position that I’ve held, I have tried to pass on my knowledge about leadership, research, teaching and relationship-building. It has been a tremendous pleasure to see my former students acquire jobs and begin mentoring others. I feel content knowing that there is another generation of counselor educators and practitioners who have embraced the ideals that I have shared and wish to pass on these ways of being to others. I am thrilled to see how they have owned and advanced my research and teaching philosophy. And I am constantly challenged by new ideas and beliefs that they hold.
My most important lesson learned is that I am only a cog in a wheel. I have contributed to the profession to the best of my ability, but my ultimate goal is to be replaced by more energetic and passionate early career scholars and practitioners. I love to stay, but I’ll love to go even more. Generativity is a good thing.
— Cirecie A. West-Olatunji, a professor of counseling and director of the Center for Traumatic Stress Research at Xavier University of Louisiana. She is also editor of the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development and a past president of both ACA (2013-2014) and AMCD.
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There are many things that I have worked on in order to prevent burning out. One of the main factors in preventing burnout has been maintaining strong boundaries when it comes to my family. It is necessary for me to put my family first and not allow my work to overshadow them. The first thing I did after establishing my LLC [limited liability company counseling practice] was to purchase a separate phone so that I could shut it off when necessary. I do not take on more clients or supervisees than my schedule can handle, and I have learned to say “no.” This can be challenging when, as counselors, we just want to be there for everyone.
What has kept me passionate? Clients. Listening to, processing and being a part of clients’ stories gives me life. There have been times in my career when I was not seeing clients due to school or pregnancy. When I stepped back into the counseling space, I was renewed and reminded of what I love about being a counselor. I have also found that working with students and young professionals has been rejuvenating. I can recall being in their shoes. Assisting them on their journey to become a counselor is immensely rewarding.
A valuable lesson that I have learned is to live each moment of your process rather than completing things simply to check boxes. I did that, to a degree, early on in my training and career. I have since learned the importance of growing with each experience and not for a moment thinking that I have it all figured out. Continuing to learn from my peers, my clients and my mentors is a process I will never outgrow.
Education and learning have always been central in my life. Staying interested in what is new or on the horizon helps me to avoid stagnation as a clinician and supervisor. I can always try something new — or even something old in a new way. Working with populations that I love and feeling that I am helping others in some small way allow me to continue without feeling my work is mundane.
Clients and supervisees will never cease to amaze me with their stories, their strength and their resilience. I feel honored to be able to be a small part of their story.
— Christina McGrath Fair, an LMHC at GentleWave Counseling, Consultation and Clinical Supervision in Stuart, Florida
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The challenge to remain fresh depends greatly on my ability to effectively manage my time. Revelations surrounding my career — sex therapy — are an everyday occurrence, with issues ranging from sex education [and] advocacy [to] societal influences and legislation. My task is to discern how much time and energy are placed on the given subject. One day, a legislative bill threatens the rights of sexual minorities; the next day, multicultural interventions for the trans community are explored.
Human sexuality is so fluid, any staleness on my part would deem me an ineffective counselor. I often choose topics [to explore] that I am unfamiliar with or that are highly controversial. The opportunities to stay fresh on things relevant to sexuality are ubiquitous. It is just a matter of allocating the appropriate time to the appropriate issue.
I truly believe that I embarked on my counseling career decades ago, although I have been seeing clients for [only] two years. A long-term counseling career is synonymous with a long-term parenting career or long-term partner career. Counseling, similar to parenting and partnering, is innately what I do and have done for years. The particulars — CEUs, licensure, certifications, etc. — are the extenuating factors, but I have been educating, advocating, learning and counseling for years.
For me, building a long-term counseling career comes as natural as breathing. The less organic aspect is establishing a business based on my counseling career. Fortunately, my awesome support system and deep respect for entrepreneurship allow me to feel optimistic and excited about building a business around my career as a sex therapist.
Sustaining my motivation or passion for sex therapy is relatively easy. I don’t have to plan for it or think about it. When I awake in the morning, I’m reminded of the importance of intimacy and communication with my partner. As I interact with my daughters every morning, I’m reminded of the importance of sex-positive messages that occur throughout their formative years, particularly as they develop their sexual identities. When I talk or listen to people about their insecurities or their level of dissonance, I’m reminded of how misinformation, society, trauma and self-perceptions can adversely alter the trajectory of a beautiful soul.
There is no plan or preemptive thought of how to stay motivated. Life is gracious enough to constantly remind me that people deserve to exist without the harsh barriers that impede sexual wellness.
— Cheryl D. Walker, a sex therapist and associate professional counselor in private practice in Atlanta
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The climb to a successful career as a licensed mental health counselor has been both challenging and satisfying.
As a middle-aged woman returning to higher education, this was my first challenge as I struggled just with that decision. Did I really want to dive in, and would I be ready for the rigor of learning? Would I do well with the time and expense commitment? Would my children and husband be supportive … and was it truly OK to be self-full? I knew it was now or never as the clock ticked on.
I know now it was the right timing and decision. I know appreciating the classroom learning, possibly for the first time in my life, was a huge benefit because I could fully direct my focus without the distractions of starting and caring for a young family.
No sugarcoating here: Working in agencies was truly brutal from a systems perspective. I took some solid lumps by inadvertently stepping on management toes. The challenge of working with clients, while most important, became second to fulfilling the job requirement of productivity. I remain very grateful to have survived the mill-type atmosphere of clients in and out. I gained such amazing clinical experience and somehow managed to be regarded as a good counselor professionally. I would encourage people going through this portion of the climb to connect with counselors, co-workers and physicians with whom they feel commonality because they will be your future collaborators and colleagues in private practice or agency [work].
What sustained me was keeping my focus on my professional goal to be a licensed counselor and eventually to own my private practice. I look back and realize I was strong even when I felt inadequate or resource-less. I’ve learned these feelings are transient and never fixed, so I trust the journey.
Seeking your professional “peeps” in regular monthly meetings that you commit to in your schedule is golden and leads to the gifts of shared respect, as well as referral pools for your — and their — clients.
I’ve learned to value what I still need to learn, [including] aspects of private practice not covered in my education or practical work and the business end of owning a business. [I recommend that counselors] hire out what you don’t know or aren’t great at until you learn it yourself. Also, keep up with learning new theories because the freshness of exploring interesting trainings [will] always complement what you know so well already. My practice is eclectic because I enjoy variety, and it has been truly exciting.
The best advice I can give now that I’ve been self-employed for a while is to allow yourself regular self-care with vacations or staycations filled with calm, fun and levity. The balance is needed, not at all a luxury.
— Lena Kieliszak, an LMHC in private practice in Rochester, New York
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We all sing the songs we need to hear. By trade, I am a counselor educator and a counselor whose practice is made up largely of clients who are serving in helping, healing or ministry positions. Really, in many ways, my clients are people just like me.
So, what’s your song? Kindness? Self-compassion? Tending to empty thought patterns? Engaging in better self-care? It is our humanity that frees and guides us in our work with others. It is our humanity that breeds care and compassion, the hallmarks of neural/psychological/interpersonal integration, per Dan Siegel. Because I am human, I have needs and wants, not all of which get met. I know what it means to suffer. I know what it means to experience pain and to wish for ways to relieve it or deny it. I know what it’s like to find myself returning to unhelpful patterns of thinking and acting, time and time again. Because I am human, I have a song to sing.
I hope it can be said that I am far more human than I was when I first started this work 20 years ago. If we are all on a journey of becoming who we already are, then engaging with the work of others has offered me tender moments of being mirrored in my own humanity. The reality is that I need connection just as much as my clients do. Our profession has nomenclature — countertransference, getting triggered or activated, projection, collusion, etc. — that can tend to pathologize the humanness of the encounters we may experience with those who sit across from us. But part of the rich delight in doing this work — and part of what has allowed me to log 20 years at it and to be ready for another 20 more — is that I get to hear myself say things that I need to hear as much as my clients [need to hear them]. The frame of counseling and the counseling relationship holds not just my clients, but me too.
For me, what’s most sustaining is what inevitably comes when I am full and receptive: [being] open to hearing, in whatever form and from whatever voice possible, the song I need to hear. My humanity, my work and my longevity in the field all depend on it.
— Doug Shirley, an LMHC with a private practice in the Seattle area and assistant professor of counseling at the Seattle School of Theology & Psychology
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Early in my career as a professional counselor, I began to see that stepping into the world of [my] clients on a regular basis with my full attention and whole heart could leave me depleted and carrying concern for these clients long after the sessions were over. In response, I took care of myself by journaling, drawing and painting to allow space for my mind to simply be and to process my experiences. I began to set boundaries to remind myself when I could just be “Adele,” take care of my own needs, and engage in living life to the fullest.
There were times I took a break from the counseling field and worked in other similar people-oriented fields, but I missed that deep personal meaning from the counseling experience. So, I sought variety in the positions or environments in which I could engage in this role rather than stepping out of it completely. Through time, I also found a wider range of ways to express myself and release tension, stress or worry, such as running, taking drawing classes and enjoying acupuncture or massage.
Later, I invigorated my therapeutic approach by becoming trained in using sand tray therapy to bring clients’ experiences to life in ways they could not simply tell me. Seeing the power of clients exploring their experiences in the sand and seeing their issues in a new way was so exciting. Most recently, I became certified in yoga to apply the powerful healing effects of mindfulness, meditation and release of tension. Invigorating my counseling practice by attending more specialized workshops allowed me to draw upon new methods and delivery of a range of treatment strategies that are impactful, effective and, at times, even fun.
Compassion fatigue from the demands of this role can take its toll on counselors. During my doctoral studies on this topic, I uncovered that counselors continually engage in empathy but may not find ways to close the deep concern needed to draw upon empathy. This was a real “aha!” moment for me. No supervisor had ever quite framed it for me this way. So, I developed ways to extend client empathy with purpose but then to step back out of it with clear intention.
Focusing on growing, being curious, and engaging in self-care has helped me to stay buoyant while navigating these powerful and deeply fulfilling experiences over the past 25 years.
— Adele Logan O’Keefe, an LPC and owner/director of Sage Counseling & Wellness in Lexington, Virginia
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I have managed my own private practice since 2006, and maintaining meaning and engagement has been a purposeful and intentional goal. I enjoy the marketing aspect of being a business owner, and I have made it a priority to stay current with technology and move into areas that do not come naturally to me, such as blogging and social media.
Thanks to Twitter, I follow meaningful cultural shifts worldwide. I listen to radio stations and podcasts with differing political views, as well as trending corporate leadership. Our mental health care reach is limitless, with DIY videos on YouTube, numerous virtual specialty groups on Facebook, and compelling personal disclosure at the hands of terrific authors with diverse backgrounds. I enjoy reading the Stoics as well as firsthand accounts of military culture from Navy SEALs [and of] high-achieving athletes — true psychological warriors reminding me to be the best version of myself.
It is healthy and appropriate to recognize my own areas of expertise and competence (therapists can be ambitious and confident too). As I learn my strengths and feel confident in that footing, I am more comfortable admitting to areas that need more growth and insight.
I so appreciate colleagues who have become friends. We chat often, consult, meet for walks and coffee. This is integral to my well-being and mental health. Private practice is a lonely proposition, and no one should go it alone.
I recently organized an open house for my office building. It was a true hodgepodge of small business owners with the primary goal to provide public awareness. The secondary gain was cross-referred business and a budding community.
An annual live continuing education training is always beneficial, and preferably not in my own backyard. Most recently, I drove an hour away, checked into a hotel and ordered room service (an act of self-care). The next day brought new friends and colleagues.
I encourage fresh ideas and the continued advancement of our field, such as Silicon Valley’s tech money currently being invested in psychedelic research.
My daily unwind is a meditative, 1,000-piece puzzle in the evenings. If my family feels like chatting, they can find me there. A completed puzzle gives me a sense of accomplishment. Every piece found its niche and is perfect in the end.
— Christina Neumeyer, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Carlsbad, California
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My identity as a professional counselor has grown in importance to me over the years as I’ve come to witness and experience the extraordinary need for our work and the positive impact we can make for individuals, families and communities. Witnessing growth, change and increased well-being with clients has been a sustaining factor in my ability to stay fresh, passionate and engaged during my career. Also, the ability to shift my focus from being a school-based counselor to becoming a health educator/coach while using my skill set and strong commitment to wellness has fed my ability to sustain. Becoming more involved in cross-cultural trainings as a trainee and then facilitator has been integral these past few years to actively address injustices and inequitable situations that clients suffer from. I feel strongly compelled to do this work as our world becomes more challenging to live within for so many people.
Keeping myself well so that I may do this work includes intentionally eating healthfully, physically moving my body in ways I joyfully anticipate regularly, drinking lots of water, getting adequate sleep and rest, receiving supportive supervision and personal counseling, and pursuing my pleasures as often as possible (time with family and friends, reading, traveling, and playing with my kitten, Daisy).
I never want to leave the profession because it is a part of me. I think I will always want to do this work in some capacity for at least a bit of time as I age.
Knowing what I know now, I could give this advice to myself at the beginning of my career: “Relax! You’ve got this. You are well-suited to share love and support with those you encounter. Take care of yourself as well as you encourage others to do for themselves.”
— Julie Bloomfield, an LPC and health educator and coach at Henry Ford Allegiance Health in Jackson, Michigan
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Bethany Bray is a senior writer and social media coordinator for Counseling Today. Contact her at bbray@counseling.org.
Opinions expressed and statements made in articles appearing on CT Online should not be assumed to represent the opinions of the editors or policies of the American Counseling Association.
