Honoring Collective Stress
The world is asking a lot of us right now. Many of us are cycling through trauma responses such as freeze, shutdown, or grief. As therapist leaders, you are not only holding space for others - you are also managing your own emotions, fatigue, and limitations. This is no small undertaking.
In times of collective stress and political upheaval, your work culture values remind you that they are more than ideals; they are the relational agreements that keep your team connected.
Digital, social, and environmental ecosystems impact your internal work culture ecosystems. These stressors will be present in your meetings, group supervisions, and casual conversations during lunch at work. It effects your team’s relationships with each other and their ability to do or relate to their work.
When your team is offered space for their humanity, it eases their helplessness, hopelessness, and empathic distress so they can tend to their hearts and return to holding space for your communities. It also decreases their risk of compassion fatigue.
In times of collective stress and political upheaval, your work culture values remind you that they are more than ideals; they are the relational agreements that keep your team connected.
Making Space for Reflection & Connection
At your next team meeting or group supervision, try opening the space with this introduction and some of these questions:
Intro: I want to acknowledge the collective weight we're carrying as a team and a community. We're not just showing up for our clients; we're showing up for ourselves and each other too. The values we have as a team and our relational agreements are more important than ever. Values such as (e.g. curiosity and generosity) might be more difficult to access right now.
I'd like us to reflect on some questions. If anything feels overwhelming, please engage in a way that feels manageable for you. This space is meant to foster reflection, support, and professional growth, not urgency or pressure.
Which value of our work culture feels inaccessible right now? Think about how our team usually shows up. It could be trust, accountability, or something else.
How can we support each other in accessing that value? Let's consider ways to lean on each other to support what feels hard to reach.
Which value feels most important to center right now? Given the political climate right now, which of our values do we need to hold tightly to? What needs our attention most?
How can I, as your supervisor, uphold that value for you or support you in accessing it? Is there anything I can do to help bring that value to your forefront?
And because sustainability is essential in this work:
Where in your week will you schedule time to nourish yourself? Can you honor this as an appointment?
Where are you noticing the most depletion? Family stress? Worry about your beloved community being harmed? Collective worry and grief?
With this awareness, how can you honor your capacity and embrace your humanity right now?
What's one small, sustainable practice you've bypassed the past month that you'd like to bring back?
And because even in heavy times, hope and connection matter:
What is bringing you hope right now?
Who in your life or community is modeling care and activism in ways that inspire you? How can we uplift and support those efforts?
If nature, play, or advocacy is accessible to you, how can you integrate them into your week? These things can often feel out of reach, but if they're available to you, how can you weave them into your routine for balance and relief?
Wrap up: Thank you for sitting with these questions today. I plan to follow up with you all during our next meeting. I'll be interested to hear what resonated, what was helpful, and what still feels hard. We are in this together, and our strength is in our ability to show up for each other, even when things feel uncertain or heavy.
Interested in more leadership support? Our newsletter is a space to resource your leadership. We intend to provide nourishing ideas that uplift you and your team.