Feeling Confused About Your Reactions to Clients?

You're Not Broken—You're Human.

Professional consultation for therapists struggling with countertransference, client feelings, and the messy reality of being human while helping others.

Have you ever left a session feeling overwhelmed by your own reactions to a client? Found yourself having strong feelings you don't understand—anger, attraction, fear, or frustration—and wondered if this means you're not cut out to be a therapist?

You're not alone. And you're not doing anything wrong.

As therapists, we're taught to help others process their emotions, but rarely given space to understand our own reactions in the therapeutic relationship. Traditional supervision often focuses on technique and case management, leaving little room to explore the very human experience of being moved, triggered, or confused by our clients.

This consultation is different. It's not supervision—it's a safe space designed specifically for you as a person, not just as a clinician.

Do Any of These Sound Familiar?

Independent DIYer: You're not ready for formal consultation yet, but you're dealing with confusing feelings about clients and need some resources and ideas for how to explore on your own.

Clients are the problem: Your entire caseload feels impossible. Everyone seems difficult to work with, you dread going to work, and you're wondering if you're burning out or if therapy just isn't for you.

Confused but Curious: You're having intense reactions to clients and don't understand why. You’re beginning to question if these are your feelings or the client’s. Part of you is curious to dig into it and part of you is wondering whether these feelings mean you shouldn't be a therapist.

The Intern: You have regular supervision, but it doesn't feel like the right place to discuss your personal reactions and feelings about clients.

The New Professional: You're licensed now, supervision is over, and you have nowhere to turn when countertransference overwhelms you. You feel isolated and scared that not "getting this figured out" means you chose the wrong career.

Why I'm Passionate About This Work

I know exactly what it feels like to wonder if you're "crazy" for having so many feelings about clients.

My path to becoming a therapist wasn't linear or easy. I came to the profession in my mid 40s, and shortly after graduation had a health crisis and major surgery that took me two years to fully recover from.

During my clinical internship, I often felt like I was drowning. I had intense feelings that I didn't understand, and I got caught in cycles of hustling to prove myself, then burning out completely—sometimes having to cancel a few days of sessions to recover. My sensitivity seemed to be a liability while everyone else seemed to be getting through their internship experience just fine.

When I tried to bring up countertransference in supervision groups, I was met with uncomfortable silence or well-meaning but unhelpful solutions—someone suggesting interventions I should try, or worse, hearing "I just tell myself it's not about me." Hearing these responses I felt embarrassed and alone, like there was something fundamentally wrong with me for having these reactions.

I had one supervisor who did some targeted parts work with me around my reactions, and it changed everything both clinically and personally. But finding that kind of support felt like a rare gift rather than a standard part of training.

Looking back, I can see that I may have been projecting some of my own anxieties onto my peers and supervisors. Most likely the truth was more complex than what I was aware of at the time. But what I know for certain is how isolating and scary it felt to struggle with these reactions and not have a safe place to process them without shame.

This is why I'm so passionate about this work. Not because I have it all figured out, but because I remember what it felt like to feel alone with these very human reactions to our clients.

This Isn't About Fixing You—It's About Understanding You

Your sensitivity is one of your greatest clinical assets. It also means that you may have more extreme reactions and feelings, simply because you’re sensing more both internally and externally. You may need more recovery time or processing time. You may experience more countertransference than others.

But remember, countertransference isn't a bug in the system, it's a feature. Your reactions to clients aren't signs of weakness or incompetence. They're information. They're opportunities for growth, integration, and becoming a more effective clinician.

Sound good? It can only happen if you can learn to differentiate between your feelings and your client's feelings, and respond skillfully to both your own needs and theirs in real time.

What This Consultation Offers:

• A shame-free space to explore your reactions to clients

• Support in differentiating your emotions from your client's emotions

• Practical strategies for using countertransference as clinical information

• Personal growth work that makes you more effective with clients

• Validation that being human doesn't make you a bad therapist—it makes you real

This consultation is for YOU, not your cases. This is intentional Person of the Therapist work designed to help you become more effective by tending to your own wellbeing first.

How It Works

Flexible, Human-Centered Sessions

Rate: $130/hour, prorated by time used. You decide when you're ready to end each session—whether that's 35 minutes or 2 hours.

Format: We can meet in person at my office in Madison, Wisconsin, or we can meet via phone or video call if you’re somewhere else in the world.

Approach: No judgment, no fixing, just understanding and growth

Sessions are open-ended because conversations don't always follow neat 50-minute schedules. You know when you've gotten what you need, and you have the power to decide when that is.

Ready to Stop Struggling Alone?

Your wellbeing as a therapist is just as important as your clients’. In fact, it's the foundation that makes your work possible. The first step is an initial phone consultation. No cost, no pressure, no obligation — just a chance for us to see if we’re a good fit.