Becoming a successful helping professional would be so much easier if you were told exactly what to do to make it all work out. So often we get thrown off course by the growing pains or obstacles that are actually fairly predictable. Here are some of the common growing pains I see at each…
In my everyday interactions with helping professionals, I’ve come across a pattern of behavior and a specific mindset that holds so many of us back. This configuration of behaviors, thoughts, and feelings is so common in my experience, that I’ve decided to give it a name: “Sacrificial Helping Syndrome.” I can hear you now. Wow…
When I quit my agency job to open my practice, that was the first time I’d ever been self-employed. I was now a Mompreneur! I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but what I thought would be hard, like the legalities and financial side of owning a business, actually turned out to be easier than I…
As therapists, we’re big-hearted professionals who chose this career to help people, to give of ourselves and give back to the community. But we often don’t think about how we can sustain that giving, especially when we’re faced with all of the challenges unique to our field. It can be difficult to maintain this…
As children, our initial instincts are to trust whole-heartedly, with naïve abandon. Our very survival requires that we have trustworthy caregivers to nurture us as we grow. However, over time disappointments and betrayals can build up, making us very cautious with our trust. “Do you trust me?” This isn’t a question we take lightly. So…
This summer has been filled with observing excellence, almost every day. It was awesome! I was definitely sad to see the Olympics come to a close. (Although I’m glad to actually be getting to bed at a reasonable hour now…) While watching the coverage every night, I found myself paying close attention to these amazingly…
Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” On the flip side, Robert Burns told us, “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men, Gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy!” Clearly, we all have very strong feelings about whether or not we…
So, I usually talk about my psychology background as most of my professional career has been in that arena. It may be hard to believe, but I started at a very different spot. When I talk about how I became a therapist, I often start with the phrase: “I wanted to be a movie star…
When I first became a hiring manager, I hired plenty of the “wrong” people. Over the many years I worked as a hiring manager (and then as a recruiter), I’ve refined my hiring process to bring in the right candidate who fits for the team as well as for the job. Hiring the wrong person…
Why Networking is a Critical Best Practice for Helping Professionals So many people HATE networking. Especially helping professionals, in my experience. Many helping professionals think that networking is selling or passing a million cards out and hoping they get a referral. That’s just wrong. This mindset can be very short-sighted and, potentially, dangerous. It’s time…