Join the conversation!
Each month we host a live Deeper Dive so you can connect with us, our special guests, and each other + get lifetime access to the recording!
30 | Why IBCLCs Need Therapy – Lactation Business Coaching with Annie and Leah
Today’s episode of Lactation Business Coaching with Annie and Leah is called “Why IBCLCs Need Therapy.” There are so many layers of challenges, from staying ahead at the clinical level to compassion fatigue to conflict with third parties, that self-care has become a primary concern. The good news is that there are many healthy coping mechanisms and strategies, such as leaning on a trusted support team to seeking therapy from mental health professionals. Getting the help we need improves our stress levels and, by default, makes us more effective in providing help to our clients too.
Show Notes
- The various layers of challenges of an IBCLC
- Coping strategies
- Getting therapy and recommending it to families too
Quotes:
- “If you feel like you might want therapy, just get therapy. There’s no harm in getting it. And even having the feeling that it might be helpful to you is probably a sign that it will be.”
- “I think we have so many layers of challenges in the work that we do. We have the clinical layer. There’s a lot of pressure on us to have such a vast array of clinical knowledge. I feel like that’s a huge burden on us and everything is always changing.”
- “It’s like that burden that we carry with us all the time I think really weighs us down. And I know we’ve talked about that a lot. You know, compassion fatigue, lack of self-care, oh gosh, impostor syndrome.”
- “And I think that’s where just remembering our self-care because taking on all this stuff and the different layers of stress that our work gives us, stress builds in the body and then results in you feeling worse and worse because your body is not functioning at peak level.”
- “Therapists are great at what they do so you should, number 1, know who the therapists are in your area that you can refer families to for perinatal mood disorders. Because, I’m telling you, when somebody starts to unload something, that is going to be too much for you because you’re not trained to deal with that because we’re not mental health professionals.”
- “I was reminded recently that a lot of therapists are doing telemedicine, virtual consults which I know a lot of you are doing with your clients for breastfeeding. And that’s so easy. You don’t have to go anywhere and your insurance can cover it if you’re in the US.”
About Us
Leah Jolly is a private practice IBCLC with Bay Area Breastfeeding in Houston, Texas. Annie Frisbie is a private practice IBCLC serving Queens and Brooklyn in New York City, and the creator of Paperless Lactation.
The Lactation Business Coaching podcast is produced by us and edited by Jillian Grover, who also writes our show notes. Our theme song is by Silas Wade.
