The Helpless Healer

Modern day challenges for holistic practitioners. Are you one?

You are a helpless healer if one of these is true:
1. You can’t make a living from your healing work.
2. You don’t have enough clients.
3. You suffer from burnout – questioning your capability as a healer.

Or maybe all of the above? Well, join the club! My experience has shown these to be the top 3 reasons why holistic practices fold early, especially for women.

I was a “helpless healer” when I started out. As many who are drawn to the healing arts, it was not my first vocation. I came to it naturally through my own curiosity about holistic medicine. One thing led to another and before I knew it I was enrolled in courses, opening a practice and on my way to be a holistic healer myself!

And as is the case for most women in this profession, it wasn’t easy at first to make a living. Especially as a single mother of two small children, responsible for a house, car, dog, cat and an ailing mother. But I did it, without a second job or passive income.

What did I learn in 15 years of having a healing practice? I discovered my weak spots, I learned how to see and overcome my obstacles and how to create balance between work and my private life.

I used to live month to month, paying my mortgage, courses and office space rent on with my Visa, chasing after clients, worrying about money. Until one day I noticed that money always came. So I learned how to keep it flowing.

Clients always come. When you truly want to help, they will come and provide the support you also need to stay in practice. I started noticing how clients responded to my own energy and focus. I never advertised. Instead, I learned how to align myself with my work to keep the flow going.

Although I have never suffered from burnout, I have known doubt and insecurity, especially in the early days. Burnout is the most common cause for healers to give up their work. I have witnessed many a “helpless healer” giving up their good work due to lack of money, exhaustion, or after losing faith in their own work.

I was fortunate to have good mentors and friends to help me along the way, but most healers work in isolation. We need a professional community based on holistic principles because our work is different from mainstream business. You are not a “helpless healer”, you just need support to get going, to meet your peers and brainstorm ideas that can lead to the breakthrough you so much need in your work.