A Thank You to My Therapist

Dear Therapist,

Thank you. 

Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to transform my doubts into dreams. I’d be stuck in a pit with my anxious thoughts, unable to climb out by myself. Thank you. 

Without you I wouldn’t have had the courage to make my needs known in relationships. I’d still be afraid of inconveniencing others, opting to remain silent and let others' needs supersede my own. Thank you.

Without you I wouldn’t have been able to let go of my need for perfectionism. I’d still be looking for external validation that I’m ‘doing it right.’ Thank you.

Without you I wouldn’t have learned to change the way I speak to myself, letting go of harsh judgements and viewing myself in a positive light. I’d still be constantly comparing myself to others, nitpicking every aspect of my life. Thank you. 

Without you I wouldn’t understand that it’s ok to not be ok. I’d still be subscribing to the idea that if I’m not always happy there’s something wrong with me. 

Without you I wouldn’t be on my way to becoming the best version of myself, the person I’m proud to look back at in the mirror each morning. So thank you. 

Sincerely, 

A Client Whose Life You Made Better

THANK YOUR THERAPIST INITIATIVE

Over the past few years, we have been inspired by the impact and efforts of mental health professionals across the nation. Much of the impact and efforts of mental health professionals goes unnoticed. Most providers don’t get to see firsthand how their services impact individuals, families, and communities long term.

We’ve created the Thank Your Therapist Initiative to recognize the impact of mental health providers and bring the reality of their work to light. Mental Health professionals deserve to be recognized and given credit for the impact they are making.

What is the Thank Your Therapist? 

An initiative to recognize mental health professionals for their contribution and efforts to impact individuals, families, and communities for good. 

We do this by:

• Promoting recognition and appreciation for our mental health professionals

• Sharing stories of impact from the result of mental health professionals. 

• Recognizing specific mental health professionals making an impact in their field.

Why did we create Thank Your Therapist?

There are many reasons why we felt that it was necessary and important to create this initiative and here are a few.

1. Therapists experience high levels of burnout.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC reported that nearly ⅓ of Americans reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. Therapists are struggling to meet the demand and have never-ending waitlists of patients waiting to be seen. Therapists are good people that genuinely want to help others, which means there are countless stories of those working overtime to try and help just one more person. However, that can lead to high levels of burnout. 

In a Forbes article written by Jessica Gold she reports, “Dr. Lisa Hayden, a Clinical Psychologist in Southern California, says that her caseload has been larger than it has ever been in 20 years. In order to accommodate more people, she was skipping all of her breaks and even trying to make her sessions shorter, like 45 minutes or 30 minutes, instead of 50 minutes. She notes, ‘[I] absolutely tried everything but telehealth is different than in person and I found myself mentally and physically exhausted at the end of each day. By December, I really need some time for my own family, as they were really showing the effects of long term stress.’”

2. Therapists feel underappreciated.

Megan Young, a Therapist in Wisconsin when discussing therapist burnout said, “It’s amazing how much a moment of appreciation reduces burnout - reminds you why you put yourself through this and why it’s worth it even on the worst days.”

3. There is a stigma around therapy.

There is still a stigma around going to therapy. Therapy can be a great tool to help you develop coping strategies to help when times get rough. Just as an individual goes to a gym to exercise their body, therapy can be exercise for your mind. Sadly, many don’t see therapy as useful. Around 60% of adults with a mental health illness don’t receive the care they need. In a survey of 90,000 individuals stigma was identified as one of the top reasons why people don’t receive care.

4. There is no tangible way of seeing someone’s progress - only experiences and stories. We want to share those stories.

The impact of mental health services is difficult to quantify and track. Progress in treatment is abstract and non-tangible. Therefore, it is often difficult for mental health providers to see the impact they are making. We hope to change that by bringing some stories to light and finding ways to measure the impact of mental health services.

5. Therapists are busier now than ever.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken all humankind in ways that we never imagined. As the wave of the COVID-19 pandemic slows - I am afraid that a new pandemic is upon us. A Mental Health pandemic. During August 2020–February 2021, the CDC reported the percentage of adults with recent symptoms of anxiety or a depressive disorder increased from 36.4% to 41.5%. 

Mental Health professionals are busier now more than ever trying to meet the ever-increasing demand for mental health services. Most are overworking themselves in efforts to help just one more person.

6. We want individuals to recognize and understand the impact mental health providers have. Therefore, decreasing stigma and increasing appreciation and recognition.

The world is finally waking up to realize that mental health is important, mental health should be prioritized, and we see the stigma around mental health and mental illness getting better and better. However, individuals don’t recognize whose shoulders the problems with mental health in the world lie, on the shoulders of mental health professionals. This includes therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, etc. They carry the burden of actually solving this problem and helping individuals improve their mental well-being to find satisfaction in the world.

The other morning, I had a chat with my own therapist. I asked her how many active clients she currently has. Her response was, “Great question, I’ve lost track… easily 100 or more.” My therapist is good at what she does. I’ve referred probably 6 of my friends and family members to her. She has helped me in ways that I could never thank her enough. She has helped me grow in areas of my life I never thought possible. I would not be able to achieve my current state of mental wellness without her.

The work and impact of therapists often go unnoticed. They are the most underappreciated health professionals - and we hope to change that. We hope to make therapists realize the impact of the work they do. It can be difficult to recognize.

How you can help with Thank Your Therapist

1. Share your story

2. Write a thank you note, text, email, etc to your therapist

3. Nominate your therapist

4. Share the initiative on social media.

Therapists and Burnout: The Greatest Epidemic facing Therapists

By now, everyone is tired of hearing about the COVID-19 pandemic. It had far-reaching effects on practically everyone and every industry. One area that was severely impacted was the medical industry. We all saw what happened when nurses, doctors, and other providers worked long shifts and at times worked without proper protection due to shortages.

Similarly, we are now seeing a mental health pandemic as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. People are tired, lonely, and struggling with the stresses of life. This means the demand for mental health services has increased to major levels, therefore, causing an increased burden for Therapists and other mental health providers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC reported that nearly ⅓ of Americans reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. Therapists are struggling to meet the demand and have never-ending waitlists of patients waiting to be seen. Therapists are good people that genuinely want to help others, which means there are countless stories of those working overtime to try and help just one more person. However, that can lead to high levels of burnout. 

Therapists are often some of the most caring people you will ever meet. They often give a lot of themselves away to patients, whether that’s being empathetic, emotionally connecting, or even just giving up their time. All of that means they can get burnt out very easily in just trying to help more people and accepting high caseloads.

Thus the greatest epidemic facing Therapists is burnout. 

What is burnout?

Burnout is a term first coined by Freudenberger and has three components:

1. Emotional exhaustion,

2. Depersonalization (loss of empathy, caring, and compassion), and

3. A decreased sense of accomplishment

Each of these impacts therapists on a more personal basis. If a therapist is emotionally exhausted, they will not be able to perform to the best of their abilities. Perhaps an even scarier phenomenon for therapists is depersonalization. Therapists get fulfillment from being able to connect with others and help them make progress, so the moment they aren’t able to relate to their clients can suddenly make their job more difficult. 

Amanda Rocheleau, a Compassion Fatigue Specialist, describes how burnout affects therapists and others in similar jobs. Compassion fatigue is a real problem for many. Amanda’s main point is that individuals need to care for themselves and refuel, just as lamps run fuel, we do as well. If you do not refuel a lamp - the lamp itself will burn. The same goes for us; we will literally burn ourselves if we do not refuel.

Amanda added,  “...for some it comes on fast, for others, it’s a slow build and some never see it coming until they feel broken in bed wondering how it got so bad….Right now, if it feels too much then cut back. Right now, if it feels too heavy then find relief. Right now, if you feel depleted then refuel.” 

How is it affecting therapists?

It was found that 78% of psychotherapists showed high levels of burnout and that 16.1% screened positive for Major Depression.

An even more concerning statistic showed that 29% of those surveyed felt suicidal in the past and 4% reported having attempted suicide. After seeing these statistics, we need to make an effort to give mental health professionals more support, love, and appreciation. Countless lives have been impacted for the better by this community, mental health professionals deserve more love, support, and appreciation. 

What Therapists have to say about Burnout

In a recent survey, therapists shared their first-hand experiences with burnout and how their workload directly impacts their overall wellbeing. One of them shared, “I have two children under three and they are with me throughout the day until I start work in the evening. I think I’m already burnt out before ven adding work to the mix.” Not only do therapists have to manage their workload stress but they have families and commitments outside of work that their burnout symptoms are seeping into. 

Katie Tessin, a therapist at Play Therapy Omaha, shared that she had to change careers several times to finally find one that she loved. Similarly, she had to learn that it was important for her to better balance her workload and day with self-care in order to put herself in the best place possible more efficiently serve her clients.

These are just a few stories of many individuals that struggle and have to learn to adapt to such intense careers. This goes to show that therapists need support and need to be appreciated more often for the important work they are doing. 

Why Therapists need to see more support and appreciation

As mentioned before, everyone was so quick to support our healthcare workers during the pandemic. That was needed after all the hours of work they put in. Therapists do a lot of unseen work that isn’t always recognized. It’s time we give more appreciation to those taking care of our mental health. 

Anne Totero is the therapist that established May 12th as National Mental Health Provider Appreciation Day. She shared that she did so because she “wanted to show appreciation for those who are using heroes treating unsung heroes. Helping keep waves manageable in a time of unexpected change.” It was her way of “saying the same thing we say to our clients and patients every day: You matter.” Anne exemplifies the impact a good therapist can have on their community.

However, the irony in this situation is that a therapist had to start a national appreciation day for therapists. No one else was there to step up for them, so Anne had to do it herself. It’s time that we stand up for our therapists and change the stigma surrounding therapy. 

Another reason why Anne felt the need to bring more attention to therapists is the fact that therapists are expected to be superhuman. A therapist seeing a therapist is a taboo topic. Burnout or any other mental illness should not exist. In reality, everyone is doing the best they can. If we are truly going to see a change in the world and move towards bringing about better mental health for everyone, we need to start with appreciating our therapists. 

What you can do about it

There is so much to be done to change the mental health space and the way we treat therapists. However, a simple way to start is to simply show and express appreciation to therapists! It really is that simple. Don’t let these praises go unsung any longer. Write your therapist a note or tell them how they are making a difference. Be sure to brag to your friends how much therapy has changed your life and break the stigma. 

Another simple way to show appreciation is to celebrate May 12th, or better yet, join in the #THANKYOURTHERAPIST initiative, supported by Ascendant Tracker. Rather than limiting appreciation to just one day, the goal is to spend a whole month showing our support for therapists in the hope that everyone will remember to spend the other 11 months of the year cheering on their therapists.

Q & A

How did this idea come to be?

Our team came together with the same passion to help individuals through daily challenges. We decided to create something specifically for individuals with anxiety. Anxiety affects many individuals on a daily basis and can be debilitating. We were shocked to find that an estimated 264 million people worldwide have a diagnosed anxiety disorder. We dove in and began interviewing hundreds of individuals with anxiety. Throughout the interview process, we found a common theme; many individuals felt they had little control over their anxiety. They felt powerless in finding ways to prevent anxious events or panic attacks. We knew we wanted to create an solution to address this pain. We continued to do research and found that many individuals were unaware of any patterns or triggers that negatively or positively affected their anxiety levels. This led us to the idea of giving individuals data about their anxiety symptoms. 

What is the impact of your product on society and the community? 

We believe this will help individuals better manage and take steps to better their lives and their anxiety symptoms. We know that anxiety affects an individual’s daily life and at times hold them back from being able to do what they really want to do. Anxiety can be debilitating. Our product serves as a way to help individuals take one step forward towards bettering their life and in turn bettering their families, communities, and society as a whole.