Stacee Reicherzer

I was talking last week with a colleague about the tendency among counseling professionals we know to work themselves into exhaustion. We were struck by the number of people who work all week at academic institutions, clinical practices, or both, then do more of it on the weekends- and do so every week! It seems to be a pervasive pattern among counselors to overwork. We talk and write a lot, and certainly counsel clients to practice the elusive self-care in which boundaries are set, personal time is established, and the competing priorities of the outside world are put in their proper place. So why do so few of us do this?

Over the past week, I’ve been following the story of Jenna Talackova, the transgender woman who is competing in the Miss Universe Canada pageant. This is an exception for me- as both a transwoman and a counselor who works with the population, I’ve learned that a good strategy of self-care is to avoid following individual transgender stories in the popular media and to encourage vigilance for transgender clients who choose to do so. Invariably, the public’s reactions to the lurid element of transgender lives that the media exploits largely range from voyeurism to disgust and dismissal. Think back to any positive images of transgender persons in the media that you’ve ever seen in which it was evident that the media was attempting to share a message of hope, healing, or just a feel-good story. I believe you get my point. This story, however, combining my love/hate relationship with beauty pageants with my concerns for transgender liberation, has attracted me like a honeybee to a glass of sweet tea at a backyard barbecue.

I’m often a day late and a dollar short when it comes to social movements. I was the last in my circle to get a smart phone. Until late last year, I still watched the same box television that I’d bought for my first apartment 20 years ago. I almost never read the same books that everyone else is reading (Tina Fey’s “Bossypants” was a fun exception) and I miss most of the blockbusters until they’re out on DVD. I was extremely pleased with myself for seeing “The Hunger Games” last night, then, just a few days after its release. No, I didn’t read the book (See? I’m just not up on what’s hot).

Like many of you, I’ve learned some valuable skills over the years that help me stay grounded during even the most stressful professional times. This is a work in progress, and I don’t always stay as serene as I would like, but I have what generally amounts to a healthy wellness practice that keeps me in the moment and sustains my work as a counselor.

First, let me apologize for my lengthy hiatus from the blogosphere. I’m back, and in the words of George Thorogood, b-b-b-b-bad to the bone. Just kidding. What prompted me to return is to share an experience I had with a friend whom I’ll call “Carol” over lunch recently. Carol and I were counseling interns together a few years ago. We went separate directions- she built a private practice and I headed for the ivory tower of academe.