Therapy For Therapists
Virtual Therapy in Hawaii, California, Utah, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Florida
“When you’ve committed yourself to a career in healing others, you often come face to face with a broken system that can make it incredibly challenging. Sometimes, you get so caught up in trying to navigate it that you forget to take care of yourself.”
Michal Cohen, LCSW
Is Compassion Fatigue Starting To Complicate Your Career As A Healer?
Are you so busy putting everyone else’s concerns first that you’re beginning to feel resentful, burned out, or even doubtful you’ve made the right career choice?
Is your role as a healer and “fixer” causing problems with boundary-setting or people-pleasing in your romantic relationships?
Perhaps you feel like an imposter because you’re the one who is supposed to be strong and “have it all together,” yet you’re secretly weathering a storm raging inside yourself.
Maybe you’re considering therapy for therapists as a way to free yourself from childhood trauma, anxiety, or any other issue that’s creeping into your personal and professional life.
Good Therapists Naturally Carry A Heavy Burden
You may wake up feeling drained because of relationship challenges at home or something else going on in your personal life. You might dread work—not because of your clients but because you’re stuck in an environment that’s unsupportive, chaotic, or even exploitative.
Passive-aggressive emails from supervisors, last-minute cancellations, or an emotionally demanding client request can fuel stress and anxiety. Most mornings, you probably find yourself on autopilot, staring into your coffee and trying to summon the energy to engage.
As a therapist and the founder of Therapy with Michal, I know what it’s like to sacrifice your own well-being for that of your clients, but you deserve to focus on yourself too. Whether you’re concerned about professional burnout, work-life balance, your mental health, or relationship issues at home, my eclectic, humanistic approach to counseling can help you heal and realize the best version of yourself.
Therapists Are Human Beings First, and Healers Second
All too often, we forget that therapists are only human—that we too are faced with difficult challenges. The difference is that we’re constantly pressured to be the “strong one” in both our personal and professional lives. We’re supposed to be calm, collected, and always balanced.
We’re expected to have all the answers and lead flawless lives unencumbered by mental health issues and childhood trauma. Given our self-awareness and the tools we have at our disposal, we even feel obligated to heal our own emotional wounds while navigating the same stressors our clients face.
Why I Began Providing Therapy For Therapists
Because we’re healers by nature, we therapists tend to suppress our own vulnerabilities and needs, which prevents us from seeking help. Although we probably could manage many symptoms on our own, we are all worthy of having someone else to lean on.
Unfortunately, many of us experience overwhelming fear, shame, and even a sense of failure for reaching out because we think that if we were good therapists, we’d be able to help ourselves. We even worry about confidentiality and the judgment of our clients, colleagues, and other professionals in the field.
The truth is that we too deserve a safe space to address family dynamics, career problems, relationship issues, and other stressors. That’s why I offer counseling for therapists—I want to help kindred, caring souls gain clarity, find greater inner peace, and reconnect with their authentic selves.
Therapy For Therapists Is A Vehicle To Better Self-Care
Being a therapist in today’s world often means confronting a system that asks so much of you that it drains your own well-being. That’s why I want to put the focus back on you. As the founder of Therapy with Michal, I believe that when people are free to be their authentic selves, they naturally harness their capacity for healing, growth, and change.
Counseling for therapists isn’t about polishing away flaws or fixing yourself; rather, it’s about allowing yourself to be imperfect. It’s about embracing the unknown, sharing your vulnerabilities, and giving voice to your own story while acknowledging your value and all that you have to offer the world.
My Approach To Counseling For Mental Health Professionals
I take a compassionate, warm, and nonjudgmental approach with all of my clients as we work collaboratively to manage symptoms and dive deeper into the root causes of things. At the beginning of each session, I provide space for an optional, two-minute grounding meditation before we explore intentions for the session.
For many people, challenges with relationships, people-pleasing, perfectionism, self-image, and boundary-setting stem from trauma and unmet needs during childhood. So, I often help clients trace current issues back to their original wounds while teaching them to become aware of how those childhood experiences impact their daily lives.
What Strategies Do I Utilize In Therapy For Therapists?
I draw from a combination of cognitive and somatic practices in my approach to therapy. I’m also certified to integrate psychedelics into sessions utilizing either cannabis or ketamine if interested. With a background in psychodynamic theory and eight years of psychoanalytic experience, I’m an eclectic person who enjoys blending many of the following into my therapy sessions:
- Dr. Gabor Mate’s Compassionate Inquiry
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills for trauma
- Parasympathetic Nervous System Activation
- Mindfulness practices, breathing techniques, and Polyvagal Theory
- Brainspotting, IFS-informed therapy, and other trauma-focused approaches
Whether you need help with setting boundaries, striking a healthier work-life balance, resolving childhood trauma, or anything else, I am confident that my comprehensive and eclectic approach to healing can help you.
You Deserve The Time And Space To Focus On Yourself
Because we dedicate our lives to helping others, many of us therapists struggle to prioritize our own emotional well-being. The truth is: we’re only human. We all have needs, flaws, family issues, insecurities, strengths, hopes, and everything in between.
That’s why it’s crucial to have a space where you can work through tough times, increase your self-awareness, and simply be your true self. That, in turn, can help you heal, improve yourself as a therapist, and embrace the idea that it’s OK not to have it all together all the time.
Still Have Questions Or Concerns About Counseling for Therapists?
As a professional counselor, why would I want to go to therapy myself?
I believe that being in therapy can make you a better therapist. As healers, we are trained to hold space for others, but that doesn’t make us immune to stress, burnout, or emotional challenges.
Therapy for therapists provides a safe environment to process personal and professional experiences, enhance self-awareness, and strengthen resilience. It’s also a great way to model the value of mental healthcare to our clients—I, myself, wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of some incredible therapists.
What challenges do therapists face that therapy can address?
Like many healthcare workers and medical providers, mental health professionals can easily succumb to compassion fatigue, boundary issues, and the emotional weight of their clients’ pain, which is why therapy for therapists is so important.
Therapy can help you navigate these issues while offering tools to prevent burnout, improve self-care practices, and maintain emotional balance. It also allows you to explore and overcome personal challenges or unresolved trauma in a supportive, nonjudgmental space.
How is therapy for therapists different from regular therapy?
Counseling for therapists acknowledges the unique dynamics of being both a provider and a client. A skilled therapist understands the nuances of working with mental health professionals, including addressing potential feelings of vulnerability, imposter syndrome, or perfectionism.
Sessions are tailored to create a collaborative environment where you can fully engage in your own healing journey without any judgment. We are all worthy of healing and I am here to support you on your journey toward personal growth, change, and a greater sense of peace.
It’s Time To Let Someone Help You For A Change
If you’re struggling with burnout, relationship stress, communication issues, or any other challenges affecting your personal or professional life, therapy offers the support you deserve. .Please call Therapy with Michal at (347) 860-1471 or use my contact form to set up your free, 15-minute consultation and see how caring for yourself can improve your ability to care for others.
Therapy with Michal offers online counseling for therapists in CA, FL, PA, UT, NV, Honolulu, and all of the neighbor islands.