STP 162 | The Hidden Cost of Caring (And What to Do About It) with Laura Howe
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[00:00:07] Laura Howe: and so this was kind of that pivotal moment where I'm like, okay, I. am recognizing that many of my coworkers are struggling with alcohol. Many are on their second and third marriages.
[00:00:19] They're, they're jaded. Their sense of humor is gone. And I was like, I don't wanna become that. I, I, I don't want to become this crispy, fried social worker that retires on sick leave with like many of my predecessors were. And, and so I was like, okay, God, I'm at the end of myself.
[00:00:44] Have you ever sat in your car before work just before trying to get yourself to walk in? Or have you tossed and turned in your bed a few extra times worrying about the day and what it will bring? You care about your [00:01:00] work, but lately it's been taking out more than it gives back. And believe me, that's, that's a hard place to be because when you're a helper, when you're in a helping role, when you really care and you get fulfilled by the work that you do, it's just easy to give and then give and give and give until one day you look up and you realize there, there's nothing left.
[00:01:26] You're running on empty. And in this episode, I talk with Laura Howe, and she spent 20 years in mental health on the front lines, and she hit a point that many people just try to push through and they don't talk about. She really describes in this episode what it feels like to be burnt out, to have compassion fatigue.
[00:01:49] That moment where, where you're thinking, "I, I don't, I don't know if I can keep doing it. I don't know if I can keep doing this." But she didn't walk away from the work. [00:02:00] She just found a different way to help. So in this episode, we talk about what burnout really is and why it's not a personal failure. It, it's probably a, an, the end result of the system more than the person.
[00:02:19] Then we talk about how your skills as a, as a therapist or a helper can translate into something more than just, uh, one-on-one sessions. And we also talk about the shift from trying to help everyone to getting clear on who you are really called to serve, who y- who brings you joy. She also shares how she started bridging the gap between mental health and the church in a way that actually cares for the people and also cares for the people doing the caring. So if you've been feeling like you're stretched thin or you're wondering how long you can keep going at this pace, this conversation is gonna meet you right where you're at.
[00:02:59] You [00:03:00] don't have to lose yourself to keep helping others And if something in this conversation stirs part of you that's been sitting on the sidelines for a while, that part that still wants to build or to teach or to try something new, I put together something simple called the Unpause Playbook. It's a place to slow down, get clear, and take that one step forward without feeling like you have to figure everything out all at once. You can find that link in the show notes. And now onto the conversation about hope made strong
[00:03:35]
[00:03:39] James Marland: Hello and welcome back to the Scaling Therapist Podcast. I'm your host, James Marlin. Uh, this is the show where I help therapists and coaches turn their wisdom into income. Today I am here with Laura Howe. She's the, uh, owner of Hope Made Strong, and she, her webpage, hope Made strong.org. And I [00:04:00] met her at a conference and we were talking about church care ministry and what she did and how she transitioned from a, her, her other career into helping churches.
[00:04:10] Care for the people in their community. And I'm like, well, this is somebody I gotta have on the podcast. So, Laura, thanks so much for being on the show. Welcome.
[00:04:19] Laura Howe: Hey, thanks. I'm pretty excited to be here. Love talking about this stuff.
[00:04:23] James Marland: So what did you go to school for and how did you end up doing this type of work?
[00:04:30] Laura Howe: my story. Where do we begin? Okay, well my background is a clinical mental health social worker. So
[00:04:35] James Marland: Okay.
[00:04:35] Laura Howe: and from Canada. So our licensure is a little bit different. So I would be similar to that as a therapist or a counselor having their own, I don't, didn't have my own private practice. I could have, but I instead, I worked in a nonprofit community health organization.
[00:04:51] As a counselor clinician, um, did many jobs there because I was there for 20 years, [00:05:00] supporting those with serious mental illness addictions, homelessness and crisis, and case management. And as well as one of my favorite parts of my job is that I was supervising and developing programs for peer supporters. Training, supervising, and bringing peer support into clinical settings.
[00:05:17] James Marland: Now that now peer support is different from what from America? The, the peer support network is a little different for, for me, peer support. We had a peer support division, division, I guess at, at the freestanding mental health psych hospital that I worked for, but it was like separate from everything and it was sort of like community based
[00:05:39] Laura Howe: Mm-hmm.
[00:05:40] James Marland: peers, but it, it wasn't.
[00:05:43] Integrated as much as I think you, you were telling me it was right. It's different. Peer support's different.
[00:05:49] Laura Howe: Perhaps it's different. I actually have not been there for five years, so maybe things have changed. But when I was doing that work, we were integrating peer support into clinical [00:06:00] settings, almost professionalizing peer support, recognizing
[00:06:02] that people's lived experience is really an asset and a skillset for people.
[00:06:08] So creating job descriptions, accountabilities, training and supervision. So peers can be in walk-in clinics. Inpatient hospital units, outpatient community settings, clinics, all kinds of spaces where that lived experience story, and the rapport and relationship really helps people along in their recovery journey.
[00:06:30] James Marland: So they were there supporting the other people right? In the, like in the waiting room or,
[00:06:37] Laura Howe: Waiting room appointments, doc office, inpatient
[00:06:41] James Marland: Yeah.
[00:06:42] Laura Howe: They had appointments and clients themselves. yeah, so they were a part integral part of our multidisciplinary team at our mental health clinic.
[00:06:54] James Marland: Great.
[00:06:54] Laura Howe: Yeah.
[00:06:55] James Marland: So
[00:06:56] Laura Howe: So where did it
[00:06:57] James Marland: yeah. How did it, how did you get to, to where [00:07:00] you are now? Like you have a burden for people
[00:07:02] Laura Howe: Yes,
[00:07:03] James Marland: also, you know, you, you, you live and work and, and worship in a church. How did those two worlds kind combine?
[00:07:12] Laura Howe: Well, first I have to say the cliche word of God intervened or there was
[00:07:16] James Marland: Of course.
[00:07:17] Laura Howe: moment there. But to break it down from my perspective as almost kind of a, a participant or observer in this. Transition is, I had a pretty acute experience with compassion fatigue and burnout, where, you know, and I think a lot of people who are in the helping profession can relate where, you know, there are people it could feel, while it's not maybe accurate, but feels like other, their lives depend on your support and service. And, but I would sit in. the parking lot in my car dreading going into work. I started having nightmares. I would be so overwhelmed I was, had a lot of compassion fatigue symptoms with my [00:08:00] family, where my empathy was used up during the day, and I had no more empathy and compassion for my kids and spouse. Not a good look not a good moment for me. Um, and so I took some time off of work. I I went on sick leave, had very supportive supervisors and, and I thought, oh my gosh, what the heck am I going to do off of work? And, and my supervisor's like nothing, Laura. Do nothing. And I was like, there's no way that could happen.
[00:08:28] But anyway, I ended up doing nothing because once you stop, your system is whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You need help. So old injuries flared up, infections, sickness, like anxiety, ev nightmares flash, like all kinds of stuff started happening when I stopped. And it really made me see how impactful caregiving work and clinical work is. And it's just not clinical work, anything in the caregiving role where you're surrounded by [00:09:00] suffering. And and so this was kind of that pivotal moment where I'm like, okay, I. am recognizing that many of my coworkers are struggling with alcohol. Many are on their second and third marriages.
[00:09:14] They're, they're jaded. Their sense of humor is gone. And I was like, I don't wanna become that. I, I, I don't want to become this crispy, fried social worker that retires on sick leave with like many of my predecessors were. And, and, and unfortunately. And, and so I was like, okay, God, I'm at the end of myself.
[00:09:36] I I started searching. I did my project management certification, and that was like, whoa, this is, this is, is my people. This is how I think I, I was a decent social worker. All right, counselor, but man, project management, that was my thing. So that's when I started shifting into more of that programmatic and team supervisor role. [00:10:00] And was those pieces. my experience at church. So what I was trying to manufacture or develop in the community happens organically. So that peer support piece, we are trying to drum up business, find people with lived experience who want to share their story. We're trying to develop that in the community, but in church it happens organically. And this aha moment happened when I was like, okay, the church can learn from the community in, oh. Ethics, documentation, confidentiality skills, collaboration, if the community could learn the church where it's like community and belonging and hope and relationship and connectivity, man, our, our neighborhoods could be transformed.
[00:10:49] So this is where the bridge started to build between the, my experience as a clinician and the needs of the church.
[00:10:58] James Marland: Great. Uh, what a [00:11:00] story. I think what you're describing some of that burnout, like you hear about some of that on the edges because people don't really wanna. Talk about it. Like they, they don't wanna be like, oh yeah,
[00:11:10] Laura Howe: Yeah.
[00:11:11] James Marland: I'm, I'm suffering, I'm, I'm struggling, you know, I'm in the car heavy breathing before I go in.
[00:11:16] 'cause I'm like trying to work myself up. I wake up tired because I don't like you.
[00:11:22] Laura Howe: of sleep you the rest you need when you're experiencing that. Yeah.
[00:11:26] James Marland: And, and I've read studies that 70% of care, you know, therapists, caregivers will, will experience that in their lifetime, in their career. And like 30 to 40% of them have done it in the last year or something. There's like studies that are like, it is high.
[00:11:41] Laura Howe: Yeah, and I think we, we, we need to de-stigmatize it as something that is a result of lack of self-care. Like I don't wanna blame the caregiver for not taking care of themselves and therefore you get this, you know, burnout, [00:12:00] but. Compassion fatigue and burnout is a workplace hazard of caregiving. There's many professions out there that there's known workplace hazards.
[00:12:09] That's why we had steel toe boots. That's why we wear gloves and masks and vests and all of these. We wear harness for, you know, roofers like there's so many. Different professions and fields that have safety measures in place to protect their workers. And when you're in a care, when you're a caregiver, compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma. Burnout is the workplace hazard that is most impactful and it's insidious. Like it, it sneaks up on you and you don't realize it. I've created a course called Finding Hope and helping all about how. To recognize those signs, how to, and it's primarily made for ministry leaders because ministry leaders are, are in caregiving roles as well.
[00:12:55] And, and don't, maybe not have the language or the training to identify it. [00:13:00] Yeah. So compassion fatigue. I 70% seems. Fairly accurate. I would be surprised if at some aspect all have signs
[00:13:10] and symptoms, whether they're debilitating or not. That's probably different, but we all are impacted and touched by compassion fatigue.
[00:13:19] James Marland: So you have these two worlds,
[00:13:20] Laura Howe: Yes.
[00:13:21] James Marland: The, and uh, you started seeing, like, what did you see was missing in the church that you were like, oh, I can help with this. Like, what was the issue?
[00:13:33] Laura Howe: I think a lot of entrepreneurs come become an entrepreneur because they're trying to solve a problem and they're trying to, so the frustration that they're having, you know? Oh my goodness. As I mentioned, Project management was this field that I didn't really know existed. And I think I got into social work because I got to tell people what to do, although I never like, gave advice that's not ethical. But you, you [00:14:00] know, you were project managing essentially
[00:14:02] individuals on their journey. And that's a terrible gross way of saying it, but. That's how my brain works. And, and so when I was in church, I just became really frustrated for a number of reasons. Churches had great intentions, but their execution often had an agenda attached to it, so they wanted to impact the families. In the neighborhoods surrounding our church building. But it was a bait and switch. It felt sometimes where you could come for this barbecue, but you have to listen to this sermon, or we wanna give out gift cards, but we're gonna give them after a presentation or, you know, you have to, you know. I don't think, and everyone was very well-meaning, but having that clinical side, recognizing that transactional piece that happens and it messes up trust and relationship and community. So that piece [00:15:00] frustrated me. Also, it felt very chaotic and disorganized. No one many other ministries in a church have a person in charge, have a budget line, have policy and procedure, have expectations, a schedule a team. Care was kind of done flippantly off the side of everyone's desk. It was people reactive to care.
[00:15:20] Oh my gosh, someone had an accident, someone's had surgeries. There was a death in the family. A baby was born and it was this panic or scramble, disorganization. You know, one family member might receive this kind of care after a bereavement where another family who may not be connected as much got a totally different type of.
[00:15:41] Care response. so there wasn't continuity of care. There wasn't trust building. There wasn't proactive measures put in place or a way to keep track. Gift cards were being handed out. The, the no one knew, you know, who was getting a gift card and
[00:15:59] James Marland: [00:16:00] Yeah. And the, and the system had to be rebuilt Every time,
[00:16:04] Laura Howe: every
[00:16:05] James Marland: every time something happens, you, you go into panic mode. We gotta react. I, yeah, that is
[00:16:10] Laura Howe: yeah,
[00:16:11] James Marland: true. It's,
[00:16:11] Laura Howe: I could, yeah. I won't get on my soapbox, but I'm belaboring the point where it was just very chaotic and
[00:16:18] James Marland: yeah.
[00:16:19] Laura Howe: structure needed to be put in place.
[00:16:20] James Marland: Okay.
[00:16:21] Laura Howe: Yeah.
[00:16:22] James Marland: And, and, uh, so when did you start making the transition? Oh, I'm not gonna work for an agency, or, I'm not gonna, you know, be my, I'm gonna do, I'm gonna do this type of work instead of the social work therapy work.
[00:16:35] Laura Howe: Yeah, so I couldn't afford to quit
[00:16:39] working and
[00:16:40] start something new. It the, that's that tension of, you know, this burden and desire to do something. And I didn't have a name for it. I didn't, I wouldn't have identified myself as entrepreneur at that time. I just knew I needed, there felt like a calling you know. And so I [00:17:00] started off, my workplace happened to offer a job share by trial, like a trial job share option. So I took the job share partially because I was recognizing that to prevent compassion fatigue and, and burnout in the future. Bi-vocational is really ideal. helping professions, it's actually really preventative.
[00:17:23] James Marland: You mean two, two careers? Not fully the emotional pour out
[00:17:30] Laura Howe: Yeah.
[00:17:30] James Marland: a a hundred percent.
[00:17:32] Laura Howe: Yes.
[00:17:33] James Marland: Something needs to give back a little bit. Is that what you're saying?
[00:17:36] Laura Howe: something needs to give back the realities of needing finances. But if you're part-time in one job and part-time in another, it does provide a little bit of, well, not a little bit, it does provide a bit of scheduling, chaos.
[00:17:48] James Marland: Sure.
[00:17:48] Laura Howe: but it has reprieve the, the caregiver they're finding, you know, they're either. Refueled by their other job, whether it's creative or task oriented or whatever, [00:18:00] but it's not about pouring out 40 to 50 hours a week. Mm-hmm.
[00:18:04] James Marland: Hmm.
[00:18:04] Laura Howe: Took that job share and started just meeting with a business coach saying, okay, I have this idea. Who do you know in this. Field. So started talking with people.
[00:18:16] Is this needed? Is it necessary? started paying attention to, you know, Instagram, who's do speaking in this space, what are the events that are happening in the mental health and faith space? And there was a ton of work that needed to happen. My experience at my church was not isolated. Many people, as it turns out, are frustrated with their church's care response. and then I, from Jobshare, I did part-time and then relief, and then casual and slowly over two to th two years at least, if not two and a half years, slowly phased out, working [00:19:00] full-time working externally.
[00:19:02] James Marland: Mm-hmm.
[00:19:02] Laura Howe: and then started focusing on building the business as it became more sustainable.
[00:19:07] James Marland: Okay. Switching a little bit to the business challenges, what were the, some of the things you overcame? What were some of the mindsets you had to break through? What,
[00:19:18] Laura Howe: Oh '
[00:19:19] James Marland: cause if, if we're talking to other therapists who are like, oh, I have this idea, I have this mission, I see this need. Like there, it's, it's scary, right?
[00:19:30] Laura Howe: so,
[00:19:31] Scary.
[00:19:31] James Marland: had to change?
[00:19:32] Laura Howe: Oh my gosh. So it was more confidence than anything needs to change. What I discovered that as a clinician, you are very, very, very well equipped for business. You might not feel like you are a business person or an entrepreneur, but let me tell you, you have navigated with people through change. Management and recovery. My gosh, if you can change a person's behavior, you could do anything [00:20:00] like that. Is that, that patience, that assessment, that intuition of when to challenge and when to pull back. That's sales, my friend, like that is sales. Through and through. You discover what the other person's motivation is. You hear the language that you're, they're using, you know the solution. You can't tell them the solution, but you have to lead them to the solution. It just so happens that in business, your offer, your product, your service is the solution. that. I had to grow in confidence in that. And, and I didn't realize how how translatable the skills as a clinician are into business.
[00:20:45] I thought they were like black and white, like two totally different fields, but they're not, they're not
[00:20:49] at all.
[00:20:50] James Marland: And, treatment plans are very similar to business plans.
[00:20:54] Laura Howe: A hundred percent. What are the risks? When do you know, what are the markers of [00:21:00] success? All
[00:21:01] James Marland: goals. Yeah. Oh yeah.
[00:21:03] Laura Howe: Yeah. Looking at both like the measurable goals as well as more the qualitative descriptors like it is. Anyone who wants to go into business probably should just go to this school because it's this. It's so the same. I would say though that what needed to change is my perspective of how I approach. We'll say customers because as a clinician you are the generalist. You're saying, where do you want to go today?
[00:21:31] Client at 10 o'clock and 1130 and one o'clock. You adapt to the individual sitting in front of you. But as a business person, it's, you have to flip that script on your head, on its head, and you have to change. Everything about that approach, you are the expert in the niche area that you have chosen. This is your ideal person. Your ideal audience. This is what you can, this is the solution you can provide, [00:22:00] whether it's fitness, whether it's, you know, a course, whether, whatever it is, a workbook know, a intensive marriage weekend. I don't care what it is. So you are the expert in that area and you are attracting everyone that might need that.
[00:22:17] So rather than you being in the generalist, you are actually the expert attracting. Attracting people who need that solution. so that was a hard thing to change because I was like, oh, I can serve anyone when making that business plan, I, who's your audience that you wanna attract on Instagram or your website and. Everything depends on that. The language, the colors, the logo, the, the time of day that you offer your product or service. Everything depends on who you're serving. And and they're like, okay, so who's your ideal audience? And I'm like, I could help everyone. And that not, that, that's a fast track to burnout in business. You need to pick your audience and get, become an [00:23:00] expert in a niche area.
[00:23:02] James Marland: Yeah. ' cause they are they, they, they want their problem solved. But if you solve everybody's problem, you're too broad. It's just, they're not, they're looking for a specific thing. So if every, if you're like, oh, I'm gonna apply. I'm going to appeal to everyone. Nobody, nobody gets on your boat. You know, I've, I've, I, I've explained this before, like if you have a boat taking a trip, if you don't set a destination, nobody's gonna really get on it unless they just enjoy boat rides.
[00:23:31] But if you're going to, you know, from New York to.
[00:23:34] Laura Howe: Yeah.
[00:23:35] James Marland: Florida or something, and you wanna travel by boat, you're gonna get on the Florida boat. And it's
[00:23:40] Laura Howe: Yes.
[00:23:40] James Marland: way with businesses and problems. They wanna get on the right boat and they'll pay more for the right boat. You know, if it takes 'em to the destination quicker, they're going to invest in that and, and buy on, and it'll be a better trip because they know whether they're going and you know where you're going.
[00:23:57] So anyways, yeah, I love the,
[00:23:58] Laura Howe: true.
[00:23:59] James Marland: [00:24:00] yeah.
[00:24:00] Laura Howe: true. And as the clinicians we're like, but we don't wanna leave anyone out. We don't wanna hurt anyone's feelings. There's a lot of hurting people out there. And I do have the skillset to be able to support everyone,
[00:24:09] and there is no doubt that you do. But I always give the example when I'm doing coaching is that like when you, when you go to McDonald's, their marketing, their advertising and their menu is for young adults or young people, those who have rock solid GI systems,
[00:24:25] James Marland: Mm-hmm.
[00:24:26] Laura Howe: you know. But if you look at who's in the building, who's at McDonald's on Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM. It's the seniors. So just because you a niche and you get really specific on who you're serving, it doesn't mean other people won't enjoy it. It just means your marketing dollars and your focus is on one audience.
[00:24:46] James Marland: Yeah.
[00:24:47] Laura Howe: Mm-hmm.
[00:24:48] James Marland: So let's transition into you know, you had this mission and you overcame some challenges. So what do, what are you doing now and who do you, who do you help?
[00:24:57] Laura Howe: Yeah. So right now we focus [00:25:00] on, and I'll, I'll bridge the two conversations in that give yourself patience as you're building business because it takes time to iterate
[00:25:08] James Marland: Oh, yeah.
[00:25:09] Laura Howe: your audience.
[00:25:10] So the first 2, 3, 2 and a half years I was struggling to find my. And I first started off with my audience being pastors who are mostly male, who are mostly in their forties to fifties.
[00:25:23] I was like a 30 something female with no ministry experience. Of course that wasn't gonna work. but what I did bump up against and I, you know, you gotta keep paying attention is care people missions those, and missions those who are leading small groups, care ministry, benevolence. Discipleship, those individuals are like, Hey, okay, I know I don't need, I can't burn out in ministry, but how do I serve more people?
[00:25:50] And I was like, oh, these are my people. These are the 40-year-old females that are s. Serving and caring for the congregation. So that is [00:26:00] what we adapted and shifted and are a hundred percent focused on supporting ministry leaders and churches who are leading care care opportunities and care projects and ministries in their church.
[00:26:11] And we do that through courses, cohorts coaching, there's podcast newsletter, online community, and then we have, workshops, intensives, and an annual event called the Church Mental Health Summit.
[00:26:27] James Marland: Do you have a a, a story or of of a church or somebody you worked with that kind of illustrates what you do?
[00:26:36] Laura Howe: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So oftentimes churches have great intentions as we spoke about on developing care ministries, but there is no job description, there's no, a lot, not a lot of models. And as we know, people are unique and have their own unique stories. So how can we. Create a cookie cutter program for, for churches when everyone they interact with is a [00:27:00] unique problem. Oftentimes churches come to us when they, or ministry leaders come to us within the first two years of them being hired and they're like, we have nothing. We don't know what to do. Our, our, our pastor is just help people. I am and, and oftentimes people hire the most compassionate, empathetic people in their church, when really, as all clinicians know, 50 or more percent of our job is paperwork.
[00:27:29] It's administration, it's, you know, all of those. And they just don't have the skills and the knowledge and the understanding of the systems and structure. a church would come to us and we'd talk about, okay, what is inside the scope or capacity of your church to care? Here's some workflows, pathways and systems.
[00:27:48] Here's policy and procedure. Here's how you build a budget. Here's how you develop teams onboard volunteers.
[00:27:56] James Marland: Hmm.
[00:27:56] Laura Howe: And, and then here's how you support your teams so that [00:28:00] they don't become burnt out and experience fatigue. And there's many churches who go through that where they're, you know, started less than two years ago.
[00:28:09] Often within the first year, they find us and say, okay, how, how, what's a benevolent policy? Okay, well here's a template. What does your state say for requirements? And, and then customizing it from there with them.
[00:28:26] James Marland: That's fabulous. Uh, that sounds like a great it's like a shortcut. Like you wanna get stuff done,
[00:28:31] Laura Howe: Yeah.
[00:28:32] James Marland: don't know how to do it and you, you think you need some processes and procedures, but who else is doing this? It's like a great resource to jump in and be like, okay, this is how you can get started and do it well quicker.
[00:28:46] Laura Howe: Yes.
[00:28:46] Yeah.
[00:28:47] James Marland: it, it's.
[00:28:48] Laura Howe: lots of examples, lots of,
[00:28:50] James Marland: And then coaching. Coaching and support too. I think somebody to talk to about how to do this that's done it before is a great resource. [00:29:00] So why don't you tell us where if people are interested in learning more, 'cause it sounds like you have so much on your webpage and your podcast and, and something like, if people are interested in this for their church or like their care ministry, where can they go to find these resources?
[00:29:17] Laura Howe: Yeah, you can check out Hope Made strong.org or we're on Instagram Hope Made underscore Strong. I wish I changed that name at the beginning, but you know, hindsight, hope Made Strong. Just look, look us up. We're on Instagram. We have dot org. We have a podcast that is three times. A month and a newsletter that's weekly and an online community of those who are ministry leaders
[00:29:44] who are serving
[00:29:45] in their church, they could connect and, and provide peer support for one another. so we're excited to have other, other leaders join us, any other people who are passionate about mental health, faith, and caring for their community.
[00:29:59] James Marland: That's, that's [00:30:00] wonderful. I'm so glad that you came on the show to share. Thank you for being with us today.
[00:30:03] Laura Howe: Thanks. It's been fun.
[00:30:05] James Marland: Okay, listeners you know, you have a mission. You, you might lack a little bit of confidence, but it is possible and you have the skills, you know, you, the, the therapist has a lot of skills that can translate into other practices.
[00:30:22] So, It's now time to start doing things imperfectly and put your mission in motion and we'll see you next time.
[00:30:33] Laura Howe: As we wrap up today, here's what I want you to remember and hold on to. If you're feeling burned out, like many helpers and therapists are, it doesn't mean you're doing it wrong. It probably means you're giving and giving and giving and giving more than you were meant to give.
[00:30:53] There's a better way to keep doing this work, and it doesn't have to drain you of everything that you [00:31:00] are. So don't try to fix everything this week. Just take one small step in a better direction, and you can use the, use the resources from Hope Makes Strong, those will be in the show notes, to find some relief, some community, and some support. Before we go, I wanna say thank you to the pro member sponsors inside the Scaling Therapy Services directory.
[00:31:24] We have Arc Integrated, TheraSaaS CRM, Guest Compliance Consulting, Freedom Business Solutions, Boss Co, and Profit Comes First. These are people who can help you with your business bottlenecks to grow, get organized, stay compliant, and move forward. If you have a business bottleneck, go to scalingtherapistservices.com and search for a trusted provider. And when you reach out, tell them you found them through Scaling Therapists podcast or Scaling Therapist Services directory.
[00:31:57] All right, that's it for today. [00:32:00] Keep going. You're doing great work. If you need support, reach out to the resources in the show, and we'll see you next time
