Why I almost quit (and why you might want to)
There's a myth in our industry that "Compassion Fatigue" comes from caring too much.
They tell us that if we just do more self-care... take more bubble baths, set better boundaries, maybe try that meditation app... we won't burn out.
Honestly? I don't think that's the whole story.
We don't burn out because we care too much. We burn out because we feel ineffective.
There's nothing more exhausting than pouring your heart into a client for 50 minutes, doing everything you can to help them move forward, and ending the session exactly where you started.
It drains something deep inside you.
I know this because I lived it.
My own Character Strategy used to be Burdened/Enduring. My default setting was to take on the weight of the world, put my head down, and just keep going.
For years, I would unconsciously bring this into the therapy room.
I would pick up the client's burden. I would work harder than they did. I would "endure" the stuckness right alongside them... thinking that's what good therapists do.
And I went home depleted every single night.
It wasn't until I learned to spot the Character Strategies... in my clients and in myself... that the exhaustion started to lift.
When you know how to map a client's strategy, you stop working against their system. You stop fighting.
You don't try to "save" the Self-Reliant client (which they'll resist with everything they have).
You don't try to "carry" the Dependent client (which just keeps them stuck).
You learn to stand beside them and use the Action Cycle to help them move the weight themselves.
The result?
Your work deepens. Clients embody their part of the work. Clinical outcomes improve.
And…you end the day with energy left over.
For your family. For your life. For yourself.
In the "Working with Treatment Barriers" workshop, I'm not just teaching you clinical tools.
I'm teaching you how to improve clinical outcomes, AND stop going home exhausted.
Here's what it looks like:
Working with Treatment Barriers and Character Strategies (Live Workshop)
If you love this work but you're tired of feeling drained by it... I'd love to show you another way.
Grab your guest pass here: Working with Treatment Barriers And Character Strategies with Advanced Somatic Skills
Let's get your energy back.
Esther