Therapist burnout recovery isn’t a one-time fix.

It’s not about prevention.

And it’s definitely not about productivity.

It’s about returning to yourself—again and again—with care, rhythm, and nervous system awareness.

In this final episode of the Structured Rest series, I’m bringing it all together and walking you through the full framework that’s emerged from my own lived experience with burnout, my work as an EMDR therapist and neuropsychologist, and the patterns I’ve seen in so many other helping professionals.

You’ll hear how this framework centers on rhythm over rescue, and why most burnout advice misses the mark when it focuses on quick fixes instead of deep, cyclical recovery.

🔑 What I cover in this episode:

• Why I don’t believe in burnout prevention and what actually helps
• The nervous system science behind long-term burnout and shutdown
• A reframe of recovery that mirrors substance recovery: it’s active, it’s ongoing
• The full 3-part Structured Rest Framework:

🔁 The Framework: Release, Regulate, Return to Rhythm

1. Release

→ Let go of what’s too heavy.

This includes:

• Delegating, delaying, deleting
• Weekly and daily brain dumps
• Caseload pruning
• Digital detoxing and minimizing cognitive burnout (especially phone use)

2. Regulate

→ Support your nervous system in real, sustainable ways:

• Sleep, nourishment, and gentle movement
• Connection as a healing rhythm (planned, not just spontaneous)
• Creating margin—because you are terrible at estimating how long things take (we all are)
• Start with one thing: one meal, one walk, one friend

3. Return to Rhythm

→ Create sabbatical structures that honor your life:

• Daily pauses like unplugged meals and movement
• Weekly rituals for rest, not just recovery
• Seasonal time off and reflection
• Let rest be something you live by, not something you earn

🧠 Also inside this episode:

• The metaphor of my tiger lily garden (yes, really)
• Why phone addiction is tied to social connection, especially for women
• The “phone foyer method” I learned from Cal Newport
• Why the phrase “burnout to breakthrough” makes me want to gag
• And how I’m still recovering—and always will be

📆 What’s Next:

August can bring a strange kind of grief for therapists.

You didn’t rest like you hoped. You didn’t finish the thing. And now fall is coming.

In next week’s episode, I’ll explore the seasonal rhythm of private practice, and what to do when you feel caught between not rested and not ready.

💌 Want deeper support?

Join my Therapist Pen-Pal List for weekly reflections, behind-the-scenes updates, and early access to all my upcoming resources:

• [Practice Closure Plan] coming early fall
• [Burnout Recovery Group Program] launching later this year
• Retreat details, journal prompts, and more

👉 Join the pen-pal list here: https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb