Managing Anxiety When the Going Gets Slow
Slow periods in your practice don't have to signal end times.
I used to get so frustrated when someone would tell me to enjoy the slow periods in my early days of running my own therapy practice—really, even before that, when I was an associate working for a group practice, I would internally roll my eyes and send myself into a frenzy when my schedule started looking a little sparse, and I’d convince myself that this particular slow period would be the slow period to end it all. Like, poof, there goes my career—might as well pack it in and head back to the non-profit or CMHC world because obviously, these open spaces on my schedule are evidence that I can’t hack it.
Whether it was my own therapist, my partner, my business coach, or a colleague, I’d get so upset by the suggestion of enjoying a slowdown, usually because the slowdown would trigger a huge sense of insecurity around my ability to retain a caseload, keep clients satisfied with their services, and ensure my own financial stability.
Even if I logically knew that ebbs and flows are a natural, expected, and necessary aspect of this work, emotionally I was on edge when my schedule was looking thin, or when a new referral didn’t show up for an intake, or worse—when there were no new referrals at all. Others’ suggestions to take the time to re-calibrate, plan, and rest irritated me. Didn’t they know that slowness is super stressful?! Didn’t they know that things were supposed to be moving on at high speed all of the time?!
Well. I am here to begrudgingly (with a wink and a smile) admit that those folks were wiser than I gave them credit for at the time. Dare I say it, they were right. And I’m here to be that voice for you, now, if you’re like that past version of me—the one who is utterly convinced that empty calendar space, slowness, and ebbing periods are wrong, scary, or to be avoided at all costs, especially if you’re newer to the field or newer to running your own private practice.
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