In this Ask Me Anything episode, I answer a listener’s heartfelt question:

“How could a newer therapist — about one year into practice — navigate a trauma-heavy caseload while dealing with the grief of a parent being diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer?”

We talk about what it means to hold space for others while you’re also going through a personal crisis — especially in the early years of your career when you may be more vulnerable to burnout. I share my own experiences navigating depletion during COVID, the vicarious trauma that caught me off guard early in my career, and the emotional output of early motherhood after my son’s traumatic birth.

This is a conversation about capacity, permission, and the small but essential ways you can create rhythms of rest in seasons where life feels unbearably heavy.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

• The reality for early-career therapists:
  • The 2025 Moodle study showing younger and early-career therapists are statistically more prone to burnout.
  • Why newer therapists often get assigned the most acute, complex cases — and how that intersects with personal crises.
• The double impact of primary and secondary trauma:
  • How your own grief or crisis can combine with the emotional load of trauma work.
  • What happens to the nervous system when you stay in prolonged sympathetic dominance.
• My personal experiences in difficult seasons:
  • Developing panic attacks during COVID and not realizing my depletion until burnout hit.
  • Losing two clients during the pandemic and only later recognizing the emotional toll.
  • The vicarious trauma I experienced working with an infant loss case while pregnant — and what I wish I’d done differently.
  • The underestimated emotional output of early motherhood after my son’s traumatic birth, and launching a private practice when I hadn’t yet healed.
• Questions to ask yourself in a crisis season:
  • What is my true capacity for work right now?
  • Is there other income I can earn that is less emotionally demanding?
  • Is there financial wiggle room to take time off?
  • What can I put down, even temporarily?
• Rhythms of rest and restoration in busy, painful seasons:
  • Short walks between sessions, one work-free evening a week, connection with friends.
  • Rituals and spiritual practices to mark beginnings, middles, and ends.
  • Calling in favors and receiving help without guilt.
• A reminder for every therapist:
  • “Put the stones down. The river will carry them now.”
  • You are worthy of the same care you give others.

Listener Spotlight

I share a review from Alison in CA that truly made my day:

"Genuine, grounded, no hard sell (thank god!)… I feel like I’m getting coffee with an old friend who gets me and has great insight when I hear her. THANK YOU!!"

Resources & Links Mentioned

• Join my free Pen-Pal List for behind-the-scenes stories, resources, and a place to submit your own AMA question (direct submission): drjenblanchette.com/therapist-burnout-podcast or the pen-pal list: https://balanced-thunder-281.myflodesk.com/drjenb
• If you’ve been enjoying the show, I’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts — I read every one, and they mean so much.