Today, I'm bringing you a recent chat I had with Jessica Prater, of J Prater Consulting. Jessica is an industrial/organizational psychologist who works with small to mid-sized businesses. She often uses strength and personality assessments to lead individuals and teams to maximize their strengths in ways that result in reaching desired goals.

In this post and video, Jessica offers three tips for how knowing your strengths will help you prevent burnout in your work and/or business. I also added one tip to the list: #3: Accept that you have limited time.

Watch our brief chat, or read the transcript below.

Four tips for preventing burnout by using your strengths:

1 | Know when you're "stretching"

When you are aware of your strengths, it helps you work through times when you're stretching. Tasks that stretch you are ones that often require you to function outside your top strengths.

If you understand your strengths, and you're required to stretch, then you know ahead of time that these tasks hold the potential to induce stress, or lead you toward burnout. Taking into consideration that stretch tasks will take you out of your comfort zone will help you approach them strategically.

For example, if you're an introvert and you've been promoted to a position that requires consistent public speaking, you are able to prepare for your speaking engagements by utilizing your knowledge of introversion. This may mean that you schedule regular speaking practice, ensure that you are familiar with your presentation's content, and develop systems for keeping track of new contacts.

2 | Mitigate, mitigate, mitigate!

If you are working outside your comfort zone--that is, if you're stretching, ask yourself if there is something you can do to mitigate your weaknesses during the stretch. For example:

Is there a program you can use (e.g., an app that eliminates desktop distractions, a timer, reminders, etc.)?
Is there something you can automate?

When you must complete a project that doesn't involve your natural strengths, tools can decrease the potential negative impact of the stretch on you and the situation.

In my own life (Ili), one area that stretches me is organization. As a result, I keep a daily list of priority tasks, and I make sure to schedule everything on my calendar. I also utilize the "mark as busy" feature in Google calendars for checks and balances--to safeguard against double-booking.

"Are you wanting to work on your weaknesses to make them marginal, or are you wanting to work on your strengths to make them exceptional?"

3 | Accept that you have limited time

We have one life to live, and only twenty four hours in a day. The reality is, we will only be able to become experts at a few things in one lifetime.

Recent research also suggests that how you work matters more than how hard you work, and that "top performers do less" (Hansen, 2018). Most likely, developing and maximizing your top strengths is a wiser time investment than improving your weaknesses. Therefore, protecting yourself from your weaknesses by partnering with colleagues with complementary strengths, or mitigating, is a beneficial strategy for stretching.

4 | Surround yourself with people who appreciate you

Knowing your strengths, and surrounding yourself with people who appreciate you, will improve your sense of well-being. Family, friends, co-workers, colleagues, and mentors who understand your strengths will often encourage you to make the best of things in any circumstance. Also, after a brief or long "stretching" session, people who love and accept you will likely support you as you debrief and de-stress.

Questions for Jessica:

What's a great way to comfort yourself while you stretch?

So, I bring it back to my motivation. When I'm stretching, I think about:

What am I learning?
How can this make me better at what I do?
I focus on the good that I get out of it.

What apps, or hacks do you use to mitigate the stress of stretching?

For me, [keeping track of] finances is not my skill in life, so I have a fantastic tax guy. He has my cell phone number, and I have his. And, I use invoicing software. I have tools in place, for example, scheduling apps, that automate my life and make it a little bit easier. Additionally, I'm not so skilled at being on time, so I employ a fantastic calendar that keeps me in the right place at the right time.

Tip: Use technology to leverage your weaknesses.

Apply these tips with the Know Your Strengths Cheat Sheet + Checklist.

It includes a list of tasks and questions for maximizing your strengths. Access it in the free resource library, by registering for instant access, here:

Let's Chat

Let me know in the comments below:

What do you believe are your top strengths?
- How do you know?

How to Keep Your Therapy Communications Secure, While Working Remotely: An Interview with iplum CEO Pankaj Gupta

Pankaj Gupta, CEO of iPlum, joins me for this post. I interview him about iPlum’s mission, the services the company offers, as well as why iPlum is the right fit for therapists in private practice.

If you haven’t already read Part 1 of my partnership with iPlum, see the five benefits of using a HIPAA-compliant phone solution.

5 Ways Vicarious Trauma Can Sneak Up on You as a Psychotherapist

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Recently, I published two articles on the topic: Reasons why therapists are leaving the mental health field. In them, I covered ten of the most common reasons therapists are choosing to change their career path. (If you’d like to read those posts, here are the links to part one and part two.)

There are many therapists who are living through challenges in their work and career, and yet have not chosen to, or do not want to, leave the field. If this describes you, then keep reading for ten steps that will help you rekindle some career energy.

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In this post, I continue listing reasons why therapists are considering leaving the mental health field, because there are many. And, if you are one of the therapists considering leaving the field, please know: You are not alone. If you missed the first post on this topic, head here, and read that first.

Five Reasons Therapists Are Leaving the Mental Health Field

Each week, I coach at least one therapist who mentions that they are considering leaving the therapy field. This sentiment seems to have increased among psychotherapists in the past two years with challenges related to COVID (for therapists and clients), including a) sickness, b) working from home, c) relational and family transitions, among others.

Of course, each therapist has their own particular reasons for their desire to leave their profession. Also, from my interaction with thousands of therapists each week, I have noticed several common challenges emerge in conversations about leaving the field.

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As therapists, we have the opportunity to be vocal about the ways we live out the intersection of life and work. Our voices generate more expansive and encouraging conversations that can lead to a sense of flow in navigating our personal and therapist selves.

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Hey—like therapy, this is a judgment-free zone. It is also a “let’s be our best selves” zone. And, to show up as our best selves, self care is essential.

Technology-Assisted Clinical Supervision: Benefits, Challenges, and Regulations

If you’re a clinical supervisor navigating the delivery of supervision right now, you may have encountered some challenges, including state, institutional, and technological limitations. The information I present in this post is intended to encourage the legal and ethical use of technology-assisted (distance) supervision in a variety of settings.

Dr. AnnaLynn Schooley and I recently discussed this subject as it relates to our experiences and our development as supervisors. Dr. Schooley is a LMFT and LMHC in the state of Florida, and carries licenses in additional states. She serves as a supervisor for master and doctoral-level MFT students in her role as professor for Capella University.

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As our lives are perhaps more rushed than ever, waiting for any appointment or meeting is a hassle. However, a tardy counseling session is qualitatively worse than other late meetings. Getting started late is a broken promise in a relationship that needs trust in spades.

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Recently, I’ve been thinking about the role of work in my life, as well as how I relate to work. This train of thought naturally leads to evaluating how well I am doing engaging with people (and myself) as more than a worker.

How much time and mental energy does my work take from me, or give to me?

How much of my drive and motivation does my work inspire?

These are a few of the questions I am asking in order to continue my mission for myself and other therapists: To live and work well.

Three Ways to Be A Leader Who Lasts

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Mindfulness is popular.

You likely have worksheets, lessons, techniques, and theories that help your clients understand mindfulness and its benefits.

You understand mindfulness and its benefits.

But, as we therapists know, sometimes understanding doesn’t foster motivation, or change. The fact is, therapists struggle to implement mindfulness, along with a “self-caring” lifestyle (Kissil and Niño, 2017).

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If you’re a mental health professional working with children, you will probably agree that many of the calls you receive from parents have something to do with anxiety or stress. Child therapists have the amazingly important yet challenging task of educating and supporting kids in a therapeutic setting that is both productive and fun. When working with children as young as preschool age, it can be a very daunting task to keep things fresh and exciting week after week! So, how do we help children develop the coping skills they need while keeping them engaged (and not glancing at their watch)? Here are ten therapist (and child!)-approved, fun activities that address anxiety-based disorders and promote relaxation and stress reduction in children:

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As a therapist who loves working with couples, I am always interested in ways to enhance my couples therapy skills. For this reason, I invited Elliott to explain the reasons why SFBT is his choice for working with clients, as well as how it creates a contrasting experience for couples that have a history in therapy.

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Understanding is the foundation of Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST). Bowen (1985) believed that if clients could understand themselves as members of their FOOs and as created by their histories, they could begin and continue significant change.

In today’s post, I offer the next step in developing understanding: Creating your genogram. I explain how to create a basic genogram that you can expand as you continue your exploration.

5 Tips for Keeping Up with Therapy Paperwork

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In today’s post, I offer several strategies for keeping up with paperwork, so that you can stay on track and avoid the stress of falling behind.

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Client Types, and Their Relevance To Every Session

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In this post, I present a review of these client types, and I explain their relevance to and usefulness for all therapeutic sessions.

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Most of us, therapists, have been there: A simple disagreement turns into an all-out screaming match in the middle of a therapy session. This is, thankfully, not a common scenario for most therapists, but it’s also not rare--especially for therapists who specialize in couple therapy.

In this post, I cover steps for disrupting an argument occurring in a couple therapy session. Intervention on the part of the therapist is necessary during some conflicts, because the arguments can cause further damage in the couple relationship. And, if therapists allow arguments to continue for too long, they can affect the couple’s sense of safety when in therapy.

The main goals of intervention in this case are to: