Dear Therapists, You Need Healing Too: Why You Need To Prioritize Soul-Care

In July 2011, I was rushed to the emergency room because my blood pressure had skyrocketed. I was a new mom and a few days later, my favorite aunty passed away. I loved my jobs as a school-based clinical psychologist, a private practice owner, and a part-time forensic psychologist, and I could never have imagined that as I was living my best professional life, I was slowly killing myself. A year and 2 months later, pregnant with my 2nd child, I was admitted to the hospital with pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy) and delivered my child 3 weeks premature. We were both lucky to be alive.

As a psychologist with over 25+ years in the mental health field, I finally realized that I needed healing too. Surprisingly, provider wellbeing was not rarely discussed in my clinical training, and in fact, I was trained to overwork. I will discuss the…