Your HSP Guide to Creating a Practice That Works for You
If you’re reading this as a therapist and a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), chances are you already know the challenges our particular tribe faces in today’s world with its high-energy, high-output, big-ambition, hustle culture. Add the pressure many women feel to “do it all” at home and at work, the economic and political stressors that make our clinical work more intense, and the financial insecurity hitting more folks in our field—and you get a pretty clear recipe for burnout. (Whew. I’m feeling it in my body just typing that out!)
So how do we follow our passion for deep healing work without burning the candle at both ends? How do we keep our own bodies, minds, and souls healthy, so that our careers are actually sustainable long-term?
The backstory (and why this matters)
I’ve asked myself these questions at many points over the past 18+ years, ever since I finished my M.A. in Counseling. In grad school (and I’m sure in many others) we were told how important “self-care” is. Helpful, yes; sufficient, no. No one talked about how HSPs can be more vulnerable in this field—even though so many of us are drawn to it. No one showed me how to organize daily life around my energy levels.
I tried to do what everyone else was doing: sleep, exercise, journal, eat well. It didn’t cut it. I hit some serious burnout more than once (honestly, it felt chronic for about 15 years) until I finally reached a point where I said, I can’t do this anymore; something has to change. Through a lot of trial and error, I found the brave shifts that brought me back to health and sanity and made my career not just doable, but enjoyable. By no means do I have it all figured out–it’s an ever-evolving process, but I do want to share what has worked for me in case others can glean from it.
Start by trusting your body
Be radically committed to listening to your body and what it’s saying about how you’re really doing. The body doesn’t lie. Period. For a while, my very driven, perfectionist parts (fueled by fear and shame) told me I was fine, or that once I reached the next milestone everything would ease up. Meanwhile, my body was clear: I’m hurting. I’m tired. I’m not okay.
One of my few regrets is not listening sooner. As an HSP, your body is sensitive to… pretty much everything, so it tends to send early signals. But you also have a real gift for attuning inward. Use it. Slow down, notice, and let your body help you choose.
Fit your work around you (not the other way around)
This mindset shift changed everything for me: for a career to be sustainable, my work has to fit around me and my needs, not the other way around.
Most of us start by letting the job dictate the schedule, caseload, metrics, and all the “extras” we’re told we must do to be “successful.” We don’t control everything, but as therapists in private practice—and especially as practice owners—we have more say than we think.
I started by admitting my limitations: seeing 20 clients a week was too much; four back-to-back sessions were too much; doing all the group-practice admin alone was too much. Then I asked myself, What would my ideal week look like? Once I had a picture, I rolled up my sleeves and started working toward it. It took hard decisions, disappointing some people, and swimming against the cultural current. But I never regretted it because I am much happier now than I was several years ago–and my body can testify to that too.
If you’d like a gentle structure for mapping your own week and right-sizing your workload, grab my free PDF workbook “HSP Calm Week Blueprint.”
Live in rhythm with the seasons
One final big transition I want to mention that has been incredibly helpful in my journey to thriving as an HSP is learning to live in sync with the seasons of nature. We live in a culture and in an era of history that many might argue is the most disconnected we’ve ever been from nature. And not without adverse consequences. Learning to pay attention to our body’s natural rhythms and needs at various points of the year, month, and day has been a lost art of sorts which we as HSPs are most adeptly wired to recover. I have slowly been doing that by paying attention to how my energy changes with seasonal shifts, what my physical and emotional needs are throughout the monthly cycle, and how each day there are natural “peak” and ‘down” times. I have given myself permission to allow those natural rhythms dictate my choices and my plans, both in my personal life and in my work life. The payoff has been amazing. I am so passionate about this topic that I will be writing and teaching more about it in the months and years to come, so if you want to dig in deeper with me, let’s stay connected through my newsletter or on Facebook.
Bringing it all together
Creating a practice that works for you starts with you and involves the following:
deep self-knowledge
radical self-compassion
and the courage to make changes that align your outer work with your inner needs and values
I once believed resilience meant powering through. Now I know it means responding, listening, and adjusting. If this piece gave you permission to respond to your life a little more honestly, that’s the beginning. The rest can be built, one choice at a time. If you need support with that, please reach out. It’s one of my greatest joys to consult with fellow therapists and help them build sustainable practices that feed the soul and earn a decent living.
Helpful Resources
Download: HSP Calm Week Blueprint (free). A practical guide to design an HSP-friendly schedule and energy plan.
Business consulting for therapists: Strategic, HSP-aligned support for making practical changes in order to move towards a more sustainable practice.
HIPAA Simplified Kit: HIPAA compliance without the overwhelm. Clean checklists, ready docs, and a calm workflow that protects your practice and your energy.
IFS Consultation: A quiet, confidential space to be the human behind the role—map your personal parts and your “work parts,” process deeply, and return to practice with more clarity and ease.