Intentional Therapist: Putting You In Your Schedule

Ever feel like there’s just never enough time in the day? You’re juggling client sessions, family responsibilities, and maybe even a little bit of a social life—if you’re lucky. And yet, somehow, taking care of yourself always falls to the bottom of the list. Sound familiar? In today’s episode, we’re breaking down the toxic time messages that keep us stuck in this endless cycle of overwhelm. We’re diving into how these hidden beliefs sneak into our everyday decisions and offer some practical tips to reclaim your time—and your energy.We’ll be talking about why saying, “I can do it better and faster,” or, “I should spend my time doing X, Y, Z,” might be costing you more than you realize. So, if you’re tired of feeling like time is slipping through your fingers and ready to start putting you back in your schedule, please stick around.Episode Highlights:Toxic Time Messages:“I can do it better and faster”“I can save time by doing it myself”“I should be spending my time doing x, y, z”Time reframes"Even if I can do it better, that doesn't mean I should be the one to do it""Saving time now isn't worth the long-term cost to my well-being""I will not let 'shoulds' rob me of time for myself"Self-Care Experiments:  Delegating a taskPausing before agreeing to new commitmentsSetting aside uninterrupted time for yourselfResources Mentioned:Book:  Fair Play by Eve RodskyVisit our website to get your own copy of our FREE 4 C's Self-Care Assessment:  https://www.intentionaltherapist.caConnect with Melissa & Karen at Intentional Therapist:intentional@intentionaltherapist.cahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/drmelissatiessen/Share one of your own self-care experiments via our SpeakPipe page at: https://www.speakpipe.com/intentionaltherapist Ready to upgrade your self-care? Check out the independent study version of our course, Thrivival Skills for Therapists, and earn 3 CE credits! Because self-care is PART OF our jobs! More info at: https://intentional-therapist.newzenler.com/courses/thrivival-skills-for-therapists-independent-study *Special for Cyber week - save 40% until December 8 with the code: CYBER2025 Disclaimer: This podcast seeks to be educational in purpose and is not to be used as clinical advice. Please connect with a therapist one-on-one for personalized support.

When was the last time you felt truly in control of your schedule? Or had a day when your to-do list didn’t just overflow with everyone else’s needs, leaving yours at the bottom? If self-care feels like just another item you’re not quite managing to cross off, you’re not alone – and that’s exactly why we created this podcast.In this first episode, we’re introducing a game-changing approach to self-care – one that’s tailored to the unique challenges of being a female therapist. We’ll be sharing our 4 C’s model, a simple yet powerful framework to help you start putting more of you back into your day. It’s a fresh approach that goes far beyond bubble baths and massages to help you carve out space for what actually matters to you. If you’re tired of self-care advice that doesn’t stick, and you’re ready to learn how to make real, sustainable changes, please tune in. Episode Highlights:Why we created this podcastOur new definition of self-care:  Putting more of you in your schedule and creating a life from which you don’t need to escapeThe 4 C’s model:  Connection, Compassion, Courage, and CreativitySelf-Care Experiments:  Which of your 4 C’s pillars feels strongest?  Which needs more attention?  What is one thing you can do to give that pillar a bit more attention?Resources Mentioned:Visit our website to get your own copy of our FREE 4 C's Self-Care Assessment:https://www.intentionaltherapist.ca Connect with Melissa & Karen at Intentional Therapist:intentional@intentionaltherapist.cahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/drmelissatiessen/Share one of your own self-care experiments via our SpeakPipe page at: https://www.speakpipe.com/intentionaltherapist Ready to upgrade your self-care? Check out the independent study version of our course, Thrivival Skills for Therapists, and earn 3 CE credits! Because self-care is PART OF our jobs! More info at: https://intentional-therapist.newzenler.com/courses/thrivival-skills-for-therapists-independent-study *Special for Cyber week - save 40% until December 8 with the code: CYBER2025 Disclaimer: This podcast seeks to be educational in purpose and is not to be used as clinical advice. Please connect with a therapist one-on-one for personalized support.

Self-care shouldn’t be another task on your to-do list!  Hosted by Dr. Karen Dyck and Dr. Melissa Tiessen, clinical psychologists, founders of Intentional Therapist, and self-care advocates, this podcast is for female mental health therapists who are ready to redefine self-care.   Connect with Melissa & Karen at Intentional Therapist:intentional@intentionaltherapist.cahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/drmelissatiessen/Share one of your own self-care experiments via our SpeakPipe page at: https://www.speakpipe.com/intentionaltherapist Ready to upgrade your self-care? Check out the independent study version of our course, Thrivival Skills for Therapists, and earn 3 CE credits! Because self-care is PART OF our jobs! More info at: https://intentional-therapist.newzenler.com/courses/thrivival-skills-for-therapists-independent-study *Special for Cyber week - save 40% until December 8 with the code: CYBER2025 Disclaimer: This podcast seeks to be educational in purpose and is not to be used as clinical advice. Please connect with a therapist one-on-one for personalized support.

As regular listeners know, we are (still!) in the process of working on a new format for our podcast which we hope to share in the very near future. So please stay tuned!Until then, we are continuing to go into our podcast archives to replay some past episodes that we feel deserve a repeat performance. This month we are re-sharing another one of our favourite podcast interviews, where we discuss the importance of owning our therapist sensitivities.  As a self-described Highly Sensitive Therapist (HST), April Snow shares her perspectives on what it means to be a HST and why honouring our unique qualities is essential in setting up a practice that truly allows us to thrive, both at work and beyond.   So, whether you identify as a HST or not, we hope you will join us in re-visiting this important and highly relevant topic for us all.  Because the reality is effective self-care involves knowing ourselves and aligning our self-care to our unique qualities and circumstances.  And, for some of us, that might just mean working in bed!  And that’s okay.    Episode highlights:What it means to be a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)What lead April to specialize in working with Highly Sensitive Therapists (HSTs)Some of the biggest misconceptions of being a HSTOne step listeners can take today to work in alignment with being a HSTApril’s favorite “non-conventional” self-care practiceApril Snow, LMFT is a licensed psychotherapist, author, and consultant in California who specializes in working with Highly Sensitive Introverts. April strongly believes that being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) doesn’t have to stop you from living a fully engaged life and is on a mission to help HSPs create a life on their own terms so they can manage the overwhelm and start to thrive. Connect with April:https://www.aprilsnowconsulting.comConnect with Melissa & Karen at Intentional Therapist:intentional@intentionaltherapist.cahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/drmelissatiessen/Share one of your own self-care experiments via our SpeakPipe page at: https://www.speakpipe.com/intentionaltherapist Ready to upgrade your self-care? Check out the independent study version of our course, Thrivival Skills for Therapists, and earn 3 CE credits! Because self-care is PART OF our jobs! More info at: https://intentional-therapist.newzenler.com/courses/thrivival-skills-for-therapists-independent-study *Special for Cyber week - save 40% until December 8 with the code: CYBER2025 Disclaimer: This podcast seeks to be educational in purpose and is not to be used as clinical advice. Please connect with a therapist one-on-one for personalized support.

As you may already know, we are in the process of working on a new format for our podcast which we hope to share in the very near future.  So please stay tuned!  Until then, we are continuing to go into our podcast archives to replay some past episodes that we feel deserve a repeat performance.  This month we are re-sharing one of our favourite podcast interviews, which was with Tabitha Carvan, the author of This is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch: The Joy of Loving Something—Anything—Like Your Life Depends on It.  As the name might imply, what this book is really about is the importance of women reconnecting with our passions and joyful pursuits.  Tabitha does a wonderful job of mixing humor and levity with some profound insights into why women often struggle with doing things that can give us pleasure.  So we hope you will join us in revisiting this important and highly relevant topic to self-care because we can all use reminders (and perhaps even permission) to truly reconnect with our passions and joyful pursuits.     Episode highlights:What brought Tabitha to write a book full of references to Benedict Cumberbatch but ultimately not actually about him at allWhy its so easy for us, as women, to get disconnected from our passionsWhy connecting with joyful pursuits can cause women to feel like there’s something “wrong”How embarrassment and shame get in the way of our passionsTabitha’s important take-home messageTabitha’s favorite “non-conventional” self-care practiceTabitha Carvan is the author of This Is Not A Book About Benedict Cumberbatch and a science writer for the Australian National University.  She lives in Canberra, Australia.  Connect with Tabitha:http://www.tabithacarvan.com/Connect with Melissa & Karen at Intentional Therapist:intentional@intentionaltherapist.cahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/drmelissatiessen/Share one of your own self-care experiments via our SpeakPipe page at: https://www.speakpipe.com/intentionaltherapist Ready to upgrade your self-care? Check out the independent study version of our course, Thrivival Skills for Therapists, and earn 3 CE credits! Because self-care is PART OF our jobs! More info at: https://intentional-therapist.newzenler.com/courses/thrivival-skills-for-therapists-independent-study *Special for Cyber week - save 40% until December 8 with the code: CYBER2025 Disclaimer: This podcast seeks to be educational in purpose and is not to be used as clinical advice. Please connect with a therapist one-on-one for personalized support.

As we shared last month, we are busily working on a new format for our podcast which we’re planning on unveiling in the next few months.  Until then, we’re continuing to go into our podcast archives and resharing episodes on topics we thought warrant a repeat performance.  So with that in mind, this month we are resharing our podcast interview with Linzy Bonham on the important topic of finances.  We hope you’ll join us in revisiting this important and highly relevant topic to self-care.  As we often say, self-care isn’t one and done and the reality is we often need reminders to keep us on track.  Whether you are in private practice or in a salaried position, this episode has great information that will help you reflect on your own finances and provide some potential steps you can take to start making this part of your self-care plan.  Because as Linzy points out finances are foundational to self-care!Episode highlights:  What led Linzy to create her signature course, Money Skills for Therapists How money skills fit into self-care Factors that contribute to unique money related issues for female therapists Steps you can take today to start feeling more on top of your finances Linzy’s best “non-conventional” self-care practice Linzy Bonham is a therapist in private practice, a consultant who helps therapists feel calm and in control of their finances, and the creator of the Money Skills for Therapists course. As the daughter of an accountant, Linzy inherited a good dose of bookkeeping brain. She's like half therapist, half bookkeeper. So when she went into private practice, she dug right into all the ways to build a healthy business that pays for her life and always has extra money in the bank. Now Linzy helps therapists develop peace of mind about their money. Since so many of us were never taught about money, she focuses on the 'how' of making the financial side of private practice doable, and even super satisfying - feeling competent and calm about your money is pretty swell! Resources:  Free Mini-Training: The Secret to Getting Unstuck in Your Business Finances (this and other resources are available on this page):https://moneynutsandbolts.com/resources Connect with Linzy: https://www.moneynutsandbolts.com hello@moneynutsandbolts.com Connect with Melissa & Karen at Intentional Therapist:intentional@intentionaltherapist.cahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/drmelissatiessen/Share one of your own self-care experiments via our SpeakPipe page at: https://www.speakpipe.com/intentionaltherapist Ready to upgrade your self-care? Check out the independent study version of our course, Thrivival Skills for Therapists, and earn 3 CE credits! Because self-care is PART OF our jobs! More info at: https://intentional-therapist.newzenler.com/courses/thrivival-skills-for-therapists-independent-study *Special for Cyber week - save 40% until December 8 with the code: CYBER2025 Disclaimer: This podcast seeks to be educational in purpose and is not to be used as clinical advice. Please connect with a therapist one-on-one for personalized support.

We are very excited to share that we are in the process of reformatting our podcast!  We are aiming to launch the new format in the coming months, and in the meantime we will be sure to share more updates as well as we would love to get your feedback.  So please stay tuned for more details!In the meantime, we decided to go into our Thrivival 101 archives to share a replay of our most popular episode:  Documentation.  In this conversation with Dr. Maelisa McCaffrey, we covered not only what gets in the way of clinicians staying on top of their clinical documentation, but also what any of us can start doing today to make this a little easier. And most importantly, Maelisa shares how incredibly common of a challenge documentation can be.  If you haven't listened to this episode before, we really encourage you to do so now.  And if you have listened to this episode, we also encourage you to give it another listen!  Self-care is never a 'one-and-done' (just like documentation!), and we absolutely benefit from revisiting these topics on a regular basis. New resource mentioned in the introduction to the episode:  Maelisa's Reviews of AI for Progress NotesEpisode highlights:What led Maelisa to create QA PrepHow staying on top of our documentation fits into self-careFactors that contribute to clinicians’ struggles with documentationSome warning signs that we need to change our approach to documentationOne step you can take today to start getting on top of your documentationMaelisa’s best non-conventional self-care practiceDr. Maelisa McCaffrey is a licensed psychologist, nail design enthusiast, and multi-passionate entrepreneur. With her business QA Prep, she empowers therapists through trainings and consultation on clinical documentation. Maelisa focuses on the “why” behind the usual recommendations and encourages clinicians to think outside the box, while also keeping their ethics intact. As someone with ADHD who’s had to figure out what works through trial and error, Maelisa aims to make sure her trainings are practical, while also allowing for plenty of laughter and fun.Connect with Maelisa:https://www.qaprep.com/ https://www.instagram.com/maelisamccaffrey/  https://www.linkedin.com/in/maelisa-mccaffrey/  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCytXRIFI17MtbmTh5QTJhsg Connect with Melissa & Karen at Intentional Therapist:intentional@intentionaltherapist.cahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/drmelissatiessen/Share one of your own self-care experiments via our SpeakPipe page at: https://www.speakpipe.com/intentionaltherapist Ready to upgrade your self-care? Check out the independent study version of our course, Thrivival Skills for Therapists, and earn 3 CE credits! Because self-care is PART OF our jobs! More info at: https://intentional-therapist.newzenler.com/courses/thrivival-skills-for-therapists-independent-study *Special for Cyber week - save 40% until December 8 with the code: CYBER2025 Disclaimer: This podcast seeks to be educational in purpose and is not to be used as clinical advice. Please connect with a therapist one-on-one for personalized support.

Many women at some point in their careers will experience the major milestone of becoming a mother. It's a life-changing experience, yet how often do we talk about how this transition impacts our work?In this month's episode of Thrivival 101 we were so pleased to speak with Lori Mihalich-Levin and Arianna Taboada about the work they do to help parents thrive in both their parenting and professional lives. Lori shares some of her own challenging experiences as a new working parent and how this led to her creation of Mindful Return, an organization supporting parents in their working parent journey.Lori and Arianna discuss some of the biggest misconceptions about integrating parenting into our careers, how parental leave can actually enhance our leadership skills, and some steps we can take to create a more positive workplace for working parents. Arianna and Lori share their favourite non-conventional self-care activities and we end this episode with Lori reading a touching segment from a letter to herself (and to all of us) about being enough.Even if you aren't a parent, this discussion is so valuable for understanding the challenges and opportunities facing working parents.Highlights:What led Lori to create Mindful ReturnThe common misconceptions and mindset challenges for working parentsHow scenario mapping can be a helpful way of addressing catastrophizingHow parenting out loud at work can create positive changeSome impactful steps parents can take to support their successLori and Arianna’s favourite nonconventional self-care activitiesLori Mihalich-Levin, JD, believes in empowering working parents. She is the founder and CEO of Mindful Return, author of Back to Work After Baby, and co-host of the Parents at Work Podcast. Lori is mama to two wonderful red-headed boys and is a health care lawyer in private practice. Arianna Taboada is the co-creator and lead for the Mindful Return Maternity Leave Course for Entrepreneurs. She is a public health social worker by training and author of The Expecting Entrepreneur. Connect with Lori:https://www.mindfulreturn.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/lorimihalichlevin/https://www.instagram.com/mindfulreturn/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/parents-at-work/id1239258343Connect with Arianna:https://www.linkedin.com/company/81917905Connect with Melissa & Karen at Intentional Therapist:intentional@intentionaltherapist.cahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/drmelissatiessen/Share one of your own self-care experiments via our SpeakPipe page at: https://www.speakpipe.com/intentionaltherapist Ready to upgrade your self-care? Check out the independent study version of our course, Thrivival Skills for Therapists, and earn 3 CE credits! Because self-care is PART OF our jobs! More info at: https://intentional-therapist.newzenler.com/courses/thrivival-skills-for-therapists-independent-study *Special for Cyber week - save 40% until December 8 with the code: CYBER2025 Disclaimer: This podcast seeks to be educational in purpose and is not to be used as clinical advice. Please connect with a therapist one-on-one for personalized support.

As clinicians we’re familiar with the concept and importance of resilience but how many of us actually think about resiliency for ourselves?  In this episode we speak with award winning workplace mental health expert and psychologist, Dr. Marie-Helene Pelletier about her recent book The Resilience Plan: A Strategic Approach to Optimizing Your Work Performance and Mental Health.  Marie-Helene explains how a resilience plan differs from traditional self-care and identifies the key elements involved in developing a strategic resilience plan that’s as unique as our DNA.  She also shares how value-driven work can place us at increased risk of burnout and the importance of not tipping too far toward optimism.  We wrap up the episode by learning about a couple of activities that are regularly part of Marie-Helene’s strategic resilience plan.     Episode highlights:The difference between a resilience plan and traditional self-careThe key elements in developing a strategic resilience plan How value-driven work can place us at risk for burnoutHow optimism can become a liabilityTwo activities that are regularly included in Dr. Pelletier’s strategic resilience planThroughout her career in business management and psychology, Dr. Pelletier has spearheaded the dialogue on the crucial issues of leadership resilience and work performance.  Drawing on her extensive background in corporate, insurance, governance and public sectors, she brings an international perspective and unique expertise on leadership.  She is a practicing leadership psychologist and executive coach with over 20 years of experience and holds a Ph.D. and an MBA from the University of British Columbia.  Marie-Helene is a Member of the Global Clinical Practice Network of the World Health Organization, and past Director on the boards of the Canadian Psychological Association and the International Association of Applied Psychology.  She has presented and authored and co-authored a number of industry and academic publications and has won numerous academic and industry awards.  In 2024, Dr. Pelletier published her award-winning book, The Resilience Plan: A Strategic Approach to Optimizing Your Work Performance and Mental Health.Connect with Marie-Helene:www.theresilienceplan.comhttps://drmarie-helene.com/https://twitter.com/drmhpelletierhttps://www.facebook.com/drmhpelletier/https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmhpelletier/?originalSubdomain=caConnect with Melissa & Karen at Intentional Therapist:intentional@intentionaltherapist.cahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/drmelissatiessen/Share one of your own self-care experiments via our SpeakPipe page at: https://www.speakpipe.com/intentionaltherapist Ready to upgrade your self-care? Check out the independent study version of our course, Thrivival Skills for Therapists, and earn 3 CE credits! Because self-care is PART OF our jobs! More info at: https://intentional-therapist.newzenler.com/courses/thrivival-skills-for-therapists-independent-study *Special for Cyber week - save 40% until December 8 with the code: CYBER2025 Disclaimer: This podcast seeks to be educational in purpose and is not to be used as clinical advice. Please connect with a therapist one-on-one for personalized support.

In this special podcast episode, we, Dr. Melissa Tiessen and Dr. Karen Dyck, dedicate our discussion to what is perhaps our favourite 'C' from our 4 C's model of self-care—Courage.  We provide a quick overview of our 4 C’s model of self-care and why Courage is the C that we like discussing the most, as well as why we view it as the essential fuel that helps to move us from thinking about and planning self-care activities to acting on them.  And we had the pleasure of incorporating audio clips submitted by members of our Intentional Therapist community to highlight the importance of Courage in self-care as well as how Courage intersects with our other C’s and with a willingness to be vulnerable.  We end the episode by sharing some of the ways Courage has shown up in our own self-care journeys.     Episode highlights:A brief overview of the 4 C’s model of self-careWhy Courage is such an important part of our modelHow Courage can show up in both our work and personal lifeThe connection between Courage and a willingness to be vulnerableHow we have incorporated Courage into our own self-careThank you so much to all the like-minded Intentional Therapist community members who shared their courageous self-care examples for this episode!  We would love to hear your own courageous self-care acts and plans!  Just go to:    https://www.speakpipe.com/IntentionalTherapist Connect with Melissa & Karen at Intentional Therapist:intentional@intentionaltherapist.cahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/drmelissatiessen/Share one of your own self-care experiments via our SpeakPipe page at: https://www.speakpipe.com/intentionaltherapist Ready to upgrade your self-care? Check out the independent study version of our course, Thrivival Skills for Therapists, and earn 3 CE credits! Because self-care is PART OF our jobs! More info at: https://intentional-therapist.newzenler.com/courses/thrivival-skills-for-therapists-independent-study *Special for Cyber week - save 40% until December 8 with the code: CYBER2025 Disclaimer: This podcast seeks to be educational in purpose and is not to be used as clinical advice. Please connect with a therapist one-on-one for personalized support.