mentalhealth
-
I work at my drug and alcohol job only three hours a week, but it somehow always manages to teach me worth a lifetime. It was a small group that day – three women and me as the counselor. Two of the three invested so much time into their recovery. This was far from their
-
I sat there one-on-one with a client in what was supposed to be a group session. However, it was… I sat directly across from a brand new client on a comfy swivel couch. Working only one night a week at this substance use program put me at a grave disadvantage in meeting clients. I never
-
The disappointment is real. I already messed up my New Year’s Resolution to write a blog post every week. I missed last week. When you fall off track, you hop back on and pick up where you left off. However, I will say I missed last week for good reason. I fell into a deep
-
A few nights back, I had a dream. In this dream, I found myself meandering between the living room and kitchen of my childhood home. My dad soon walked into the kitchen and asked me to spend time with him (I cannot recall the exact wording). However, he was clearly intoxicated. I repeatedly told him
-
I’ve been feeling this picture on a spiritual level. This pandemic has definitely taken its toll on my colleagues and myself. Whereas most industries suffered, business in the mental health community has been booming. At my agency alone, we have seen a 50% increase in our caseload from 400 clients to over 650. That kind
-
It still feels surreal to be writing this four months later. I honestly do not even want to write this, but, if there is one thing that your side of the family taught me was to celebrate life rather than mourn it. You gave everyone including me more than enough reasons to memorialize you. On
-
Not gonna lie. I’m having major writer’s block this week and feeling uninspired to write. Nothing significant or eye-opening really took place. It was not a bad week. It was not a fantastic week. It just came and went. You know what though? Sometimes we need that. With how crazy the world is right now,
-
Checking my Facebook timeline this morning, my friend posted the article from the Huffington Post: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coronavirus-pandemic-wall-mental-health. Other than it basically summing up everything my blog has been saying for the last three months 😉, it is true. We are ALL hitting a wall right now. I felt myself slowly deteriorating a few weeks ago. Not
-
All I can say is fuck burnout. It slammed into me like a linebacker. After months of dragging my carcass along, I could not take it anymore. I felt myself slipping deeper and deeper into a spiral of self-doubt and guilt – the first sign that I am burning the candle at both ends. I
-
As a counselor, I am no stranger to burnout. It happens to the best of us. Over time, clients, workload, and life just wear you down until you reach a breaking point. Over the last two weeks, the all too familiar feeling dawned on me. Waking up, I had little to no motivation to get
The Caring Counselor 