Breaking Free From the Agency Treadmill with Renelle Bourdage

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Welcome back to Therapist Expanded! Today I’m interviewing Psychotherapist Renelle Bourdage.

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In this episode we discuss:

• The history of how we got here as a field
• Endless working that leads to insurmountable suffering
• ‘Its not you it’s me’ type thinking in these systems, and a movement to the ‘It’s you not me’ phase that predicts readiness for change
• Students following the direction of liability phobic governing bodies and agencies
• Conditioning and wounding that stems from oppression, and the story we tell ourselves
• Having less expectations and more agreements
• Acting responsibly vs being responsible
• The system changing by going after what we want and by innovating from Selfhood
• Different cultures doing things rooted in love and healing, and not fear

Renelle Bourdage, Psychotherapist and researcher in clinical neuropsychology shares with us her story of how she took huge steps to live outside of her conditioning. First by realizing she was stuck in an unsustainable agency model, and then noticing others were not recognizing this problem.

She believed she was powerless in making systemic change, and ultimately reached profound burn out. From this place she saw she needed to make significant changes and she gave herself permission to take the leap.

When she couldn’t keep up with all the demands, whether realistic or perceived, Renelle realized she was stuck in the rhythm of the treadmill with no end, never moving forward.

She felt the speed and structure of the way the agency model was set up to get clients off the waitlist, and she felt like she needed to be a miracle worker within a certain amount of sessions. Then getting them 'out the door' while working with their complex mental health diagnoses and managing a large caseload.

She shares that it led to a high burnout rate with no end, like being on that treadmill while never moving forward.

She realized it's also no one's fault, no one’s wrong. It's an unsustainable system and agency model that ultimately leads to compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and leaving therapists feeling depleted.

Thanks for listening!

*Hey! What's Your Therapist Fulfillment Flavor? Take the QUIZ to find out and see how much your fulfillment really is like ice cream!

On a serious note, this quiz could illuminate the beginnings of a path to your fulfillment so take the QUIZ today and receive curated content just for you!

I hope you enjoy the podcast! Please Subscribe, share, rate and review if it feels genuine to you!

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Thanks for listening!