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The moment someone said, “Just write the note and get back to work,” we knew this conversation had to happen. Kara returns to help us put words to the wounds so many clinicians carry in silence, Adverse Psychological Events that hit confidence, corrode safety, and quietly push talented therapists out of the field.

We dig into six APEs Kara is tracking through an anonymous multi-state survey: client violence, client suicide, client sudden death for other reasons, subpoenas, grievances, and professional betrayal. The stories are raw and real, from tragic headlines to everyday micro-injuries that add up. We talk about why the highest-reported harm is client violence, how a predominantly female workforce experiences unique pressure under patriarchy, and what happens when leadership responds to loss with productivity demands instead of protection and care.

Rather than selling quick fixes, we focus on meaning-making and practical change. We unpack why “take two days” and a massage is not recovery, and we lay out concrete shifts leaders can make now: delay non-urgent emails, create opt-in critical incident debriefs, budget paid recovery time after APEs, and set real caseload limits. Kara shares insights from The Resilient Therapist—an upcoming book that refuses tidy endings—and explains how honest storytelling can reduce shame and build community. We also explore the likely intersections between early-life adversity and career trauma, challenging the myth that prevention alone can sanitize human work.

This is a candid, compassionate guide for clinicians, supervisors, and anyone who wants mental health care to remain humane. If you’ve ever wondered, “Is it just me?”—it isn’t. Join us to name the harm, protect the helpers, and keep compassion alive in our workplaces.

If this resonated, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a review. Want to contribute to the ongoing APE survey or learn more about Kara’s work? Check the links in the show notes and tell us what real support would look like for you.

Confidential grief/free download of current research findings: https://croswaitecounselingpllc.com/confidential-grief

Link to APE anonymous survey: https://forms.gle/w1ajyJZ3t3nCLj4EA

A Hero's Welcome Podcast © Maria Laquerre-Diego & Liliana Baylon

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The world feels loud, relentless, and on fire, and we’re saying it out loud. We unpack what burnout looks like when you’re a therapist, a caregiver, a business owner, and a human with real health needs. From gendered reactions to boundaries to the whiplash of funding news that can upend client care overnight, we explore why mental health work is unavoidably political and how that reality lands in our bodies, our calendars, and our communities.

We get honest about the “crispy around the edges” feeling, the hypervigilance every time a news alert pings, and the moral injury that comes with holding trauma in a culture that still expects constant availability. We also highlight who’s getting squeezed hardest, LGBTQ clients and other marginalized groups, and why alignment with your own therapist’s values can be the difference between masking and true relief. This is a conversation about naming what hurts without shame and building support that actually holds.

You’ll hear practical, doable steps: setting boundaries that stick, protecting time off before you need it, creating micro-respite through play and simple rituals, and using future-self planning to cut decision fatigue. We talk about peer consults, safer supervision, and bottom-up advocacy when professional associations feel distant. No toxic positivity, no hustle-speak, just real strategies for staying human while you help humans.

If you’re tired and still showing up, you’re not alone. Hit play to feel seen, gather language for hard conversations, and leave with tools you can use this week. If this resonates, subscribe, share with a colleague who needs it, and leave a review telling us one boundary you’re committing to next.

A Hero's Welcome Podcast © Maria Laquerre-Diego & Liliana Baylon

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What if “screen time” could become the most connective part of your day? We sit down with psychologist and play therapy supervisor Rachel to rethink digital life not as a threat to childhood, but as a modern playground where families can heal, learn, and laugh together. From a rollicking demo of Acron (VR tree vs. mobile squirrels) to the tiny moments of co-viewing YouTube with a toddler, we explore how games and videos can spark language, regulation, and genuine relationships.

Rachel breaks down why parents and clinicians often feel stuck: uncertainty drives anxiety, and anxiety drives avoidance. Instead of chasing expertise, she shows how competence in digital spaces mirrors any play medium—paint, puppets, or pixels. Learn how to read the setting, roles, and rules of a child’s favorite game, and ask process questions inside the play. You’ll hear her vivid Minecraft story of two kids searching for diamonds, one digging down and one exploring caves, which reveals how meaning lives in the choices, not in your mastery of the mechanics.

We also discuss balance and boundaries without scare tactics. Yes, align with pediatric guidance and your family values. But recognize that technology now mediates how kids connect; a blanket cannot fracture social ties and trust. Try practical shifts: schedule a console-based game night, co-watch videos and narrate, ask your teen to teach you their world, and treat voice chats and guilds like you would a neighborhood hangout. For therapists, pick one platform a client loves, learn just enough via “YouTube University,” and let curiosity lead.

By trading judgment for presence, screens become toys, and toys become language. That language builds bridges between parent and child, therapist and client, and among peers who live both online and off. If you’ve been wary of VR headsets, Roblox builds, or YouTube binges, this conversation offers a calmer, evidence-informed path forward and simple steps to start today.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a reframe on “screen time,” and leave a review to help more curious parents and clinicians find us.

Contact Link: beacons.ai/docvater

A Hero's Welcome Podcast © Maria Laquerre-Diego & Liliana Baylon