We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alexa Shank a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Alexa, thank you for joining us today and sharing your experiences and acquired wisdom with us. Burnout is a huge topic these days and so we’d love to kick things off by discussing your thoughts on overcoming or avoiding burnout
Burnout is an extremely common risk for therapists, since we spend so much time interacting with clients in distress and discussing highly emotional topics. One way I try to avoid burnout is by being very intentional with how I structure my schedule. I know ideally how many clients I can see each week without feeling too emotionally exhausted, and so I work hard to not push myself past that. Additionally, I try to structure my days to include breaks so that I have time for snacks, rest, and paperwork. I also try really hard to achieve a good work-life balance by not answering emails on the weekends and taking an extra day off here and there to recharge.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor with my own private practice in Houston, Relief & Recovery Psychotherapy. I specialize in the treatment of eating disorders and body image in teens and adults. My work is especially rewarding in that I get the privilege of meeting some of the most resilient and inspiring people. My clients are frequently high-achieving successful individuals who just need some extra help and support in order to resolve their issues. I especially love getting to work with dancers, gymnasts, and other athletes since I was a professional dancer myself.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
One of the qualities I value as a clinician is my curiosity. I have always enjoyed learning, reading, and acquiring new skills. This has helped me to become more knowledgeable on eating disorders and how to best treat them. Treatments and theories in the field of counseling are frequently changing and evolving, so it’s essential to stay open to new information. I also strive to maintain a curious attitude about my clients themselves. Sometimes I might not initially understand the choices they make or the actions they take. But, adopting a stance of curiosity and receptiveness can help me to ask the right questions that allow me to see their perspectives better.
Furthermore, I have always been very self-motivated and responsible. These qualities were extremely useful to me when I decided to take the initiative of beginning my own practice. It takes a lot of research and preparation in order to go about setting up your own business. As a practice owner it’s necessary to take on many non-clinical hats like marketing and budgeting so being self-directed and goal focused in order to seek out the most useful information is beneficial.
My advice to other therapists would be to always maintain a stance of curiosity and open-mindedness with your training and your clients themselves. Additionally, anyone that is interested in setting up their own practice will need to be hard-working and determined in order to put in the time and effort it takes to build a successful business.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Being a therapist and a business owner can be stressful at times. When I start to feel overwhelmed, my go-to coping strategies are to first make a list on my phone with everything that’s on my mind. Writing things out helps me to be able to see it in an organized manner and from there I can more effectively decide how I want to navigate all of the things on the list. I also have several friends who are therapists that I frequently seek out advice from or just spend time with to decompress. I think that everyone should have friends in their same profession that they can relate to and call for support. Lastly, I try to prioritize fun activities like dance classes or reading a book in order to relax. I think it’s important for everyone to have a “coping toolbox,” whether it’s literal or figurative. Everyone needs positive ways to manage their stress when feeling overwhelmed.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.reliefandrecoverypllc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reliefandrecovery/
Image Credits
Scott Edwards
