This spring, the Ontario Physiotherapy Association invited us to deliver the keynote address at its annual InterACTION Conference. Our keynote, Managing Our Well-Being as a Clinical Skill, began with a simple but unsettling question:

“What happens when the very work that gives us meaning also begins to erode our own well-being?”

The Weight Beneath the Work

We enter helping professions because we want to make a difference and contribute in a positive way to society. Yet anyone who has worked at the bedside, in the clinic, or in a counseling room knows the weight that comes with caring.

That weight can show up as emotional exhaustion after a difficult patient encounter, a gnawing guilt when we can’t “fix” someone’s suffering, or the fear that burnout is inevitable.

These are not failures of character. They are predictable hazards of the work we do.

Helping is Hard and That’s Normal

Whether you're a physiotherapist, occupational therapist, nurse, physician, counselor, or any other health professional, you've likely had moments when the emotional weight of your work felt heavy. You may have:

Felt emotionally drained after a difficult patient encounter
Felt guilty or even a sense of helplessness for not being able to “fix” someone’s suffering
Silently questioned your own competence
Wondered if burnout is inevitable in this line of work and whether it is sustainable for you

These are not signs of failure. They’re signs of humanity. And there are some hazards in a helping professional that we should be aware of.

Naming the Hazards of Helping

Helping professions come with unique psychological challenges and risks. During our keynote, we named some of the most common hazards clinicians face:

Burnout: a sense of emotional and physical exhaustion, disengagement from work, and depersonalization
Empathic strain & fatigue: The emotional labor of witnessing suffering, day after day, can wear us down.
Experiential avoidance: Suppressing our own emotional responses to “stay strong” for others.
Transference & countertransference: when a client unconsciously redirects feelings or expectations from past relationships onto a therapist, while countertransference is the therapist’s emotional reaction to the client that may be shaped by their own past experiences.
Overidentification: When our self-worth and sense of competence becomes too tied to patient outcomes or productivity.
Overcommitment: saying “yes” to all helping requests, even if it comes at the cost of our own wellbeing (working through lunch, staying late, joining additional committees).

These experiences are part of what it means to care deeply. But left unaddressed, they can lead to empathy fatigue, burnout, or even disengagement from the work we once loved.

Moving Beyond Surface Fixes

Too often, well-being initiatives for healthcare workers are reduced to platitudes:
Remember to breathe. Practice gratitude. Take a bath.

These suggestions, while well-meaning, miss the complexity of our work. We advocate for evidence-based tools rooted in psychology:

Emotion regulation science — widening the window of tolerance under stress.
Empathy skills — distinguishing between affective and cognitive empathy.
Values-based boundaries — saying no in service of saying yes to what matters most.
Understanding the cycle of caring — learning how to both connect deeply and detach appropriately.

From Keynote to Workshop

*Anna and Andrea present their keynote talk at the Ontario Physiotherapy Association Interaction Conference in March 2025. Our slide reads: “Being a physio is: close-up, complex, and unscripted”.*

The response to our keynote was immediate. Clinicians approached us afterward and said, “I thought I was the only one who felt this way,” and “I didn’t know there was language behind what I was experiencing.”

We realized that naming the problem wasn’t enough. The conversation had to continue.

So, in June 2025, we launched an intimate, full-day workshop, titled Managing Your Well-Being: Critical Skills for Interpersonal and Clinical Effectiveness.

We wanted to create more than a lecture. Our goal was to design an experience where participants could learn, apply, and connect — leaving not only with knowledge, but with a plan.

*Our first pilot group for our workshop: Managing Your Wellbeing: Critical Skills for Interpersonal and Clinical Effectiveness.* We wove well-being practices throughout the day, from the catered lunch to the quiet moments of pause between exercises. The feedback confirmed we were onto something!

“This workshop helped me understand and develop skills beyond the traditional deep breathing and bubble bath choices we are given. I was able to walk away with some excellent next steps that I can incorporate into my day to continue to have a healthy, and happy working life in health care for many years to come.”

— Physiotherapist

“As healthcare professionals we consistently hear about going above and beyond for patient-centered care. When was the last time you went above and beyond to prioritize your own well-being in the workplace? This workshop teaches just that; real-world applicable strategies as well as the science behind the importance of prioritizing your wellbeing, minimizing burnout and learning to be the best version of yourself.”

— Occupational Therapist

Come join us for our next workshop!

If you’re feeling tired, disillusioned, or even questioning your future in a helping career, you’re not alone. We see our roles as facilitators who bring clinicians together to learn, connect, share, and hold one another accountable for keeping well. Our keynote and first workshop made clear that people are eager for more than surface-level fixes. They want meaningful, evidence-based strategies that can be applied.

On Saturday November 29, 2025, we are hosting our next full-day workshop in Toronto: Managing Your WellBeing: Critical Skills for Interpersonal and Clinical Effectiveness.

If you are interested, you can sign up for the waitlist below:

JOIN WAITLIST HERE!

MANAGING THE HIDDEN HAZARDS OF HELPING