When Career Work Is Also Mental Health Work: My Conversation on Private Pay Practitioners

I recently had the honor of sitting down with DJ Burr on the Private Pay Practitioners Premium podcast and honestly, it was one of those conversations that reminded me why I do this work.

We talked about something I’ve been passionate about for years: career trauma. Not as a buzzword, but as a real, clinical framework for understanding what happens when the environments we work in — the pay inequity, the microaggressions, the chronic burnout — leave lasting marks on who we are.

Because here’s the thing: career counseling is mental health work. Full stop.

As I shared on the podcast, clients rarely come to me saying “I have career trauma.” They come saying I feel stuck. They’re burnt out, spinning, unsure whether to stay or go and often unable to leave for reasons that are entirely valid (hello, healthcare benefits!). What we’re really doing in those sessions is untangling the emotional weight that’s been quietly accumulating for years.

One of my favorite moments in the conversation was when we got into how this work shows up differently for private pay practitioners specifically. If you’ve spent years in nonprofit or agency environments, let’s be honest, they can be some of the most toxic workplaces out there. You’ve slowly been absorbing messages about what you’re worth and what you’re allowed to want. Transitioning to private pay isn’t just a business decision. For a lot of us, it’s a reckoning.

DJ asked me what I’d say to a therapist sitting with that tension, and my answer surprised even me a little: Are we reenacting something here? Are we holding on to systems that don’t serve us because leaving feels unsafe even when staying is clearly costing us?

We also talked about the career construction interview, pro bono access, and why being the only career trauma specialist showing up in Google searches in Baltimore is less about luck and more about committing to a clear niche.

There is so much more in the full episode including a dog named Leon who slept through the whole thing.

If you’re a clinician who’s ever wondered how career counseling fits into your work or your own journey this one’s for you.