134 FEATURE
THE HEALER’S COMPASS
As part of this initiative, I’ve integrated the ethical and
patient distress, grief, and trauma without the tools to manage it. I created The Healer’s Compass as a response to this gap. It’s a professional development series that supports healthcare providers across all disciplines in cultivating the mental health resilience required to stay well while doing meaningful work. At its core, The Healer’s Compass teaches how to implement emotional, physiological, and communication boundaries in clinical settings.
“They’re lying face down on the table as I release a knot in their shoulder, and they start telling me about their childhood trauma,” balked the massage therapist as we chatted after my appointment. As a psychotherapist, I’ve spent a lot of time in health appointments
structured use of generative AI: a growing tool in the mental health space. Used well, AI can support healthcare providers in practicing and reinforcing emotional and communication boundaries, helping them build healthier habits in their day-to-day practice. The goal is not to disconnect from the work - it’s to stay connected without losing ourselves in the process. If you are a healthcare provider looking to deepen your resilience, reconnect with your purpose, and build sustainable boundaries in your practice, I invite you to explore The Healer’s Compass series. Together, we can redefine what it means to care for others, and for ourselves. Learn more at mymomentummind.com.
with chiropractors, massage therapists, physiotherapists,
osteopaths, and others. And over time, because of the nature of my work, people tend to open up to me, especially other healthcare providers. Whether they’re speaking about their personal experiences or struggling with how to better support their patients, I often find myself in conversations where the lines between physical care and emotional care blur. Many providers have shared their bafflement with me: Why do patients who come in for a physical health concern end up turning the appointment into a therapy session? It’s an honest question, and a difficult one. Just because someone is trained as a caregiver doesn’t mean they’re emotionally prepared to hold space for trauma disclosures. Nor should they be expected to. As therapists, we’re taught how to separate our clients’ pain from our own: how to notice when we’re absorbing too much, how to set boundaries, and how to care for ourselves when the work becomes too heavy. These are foundational skills taught through clinical supervision and ongoing professional development. But most physical healthcare providers don’t receive this kind of training. And yet they are increasingly exposed to
But the story behind it is personal.
My own journey to understanding ‘safe and effective use of self’ has been slow and at times messy. I used to believe that being a good therapist meant I had to be endlessly composed, emotionally neutral, and always practicing what I preach. That belief, rooted in self-stigma and societal misconceptions, kept me from acknowledging when I was struggling. (You can read more about this in my interview with Unsinkable.) There’s a damaging myth in our culture that therapists are somehow immune to the emotional toll of their work. As if we’re closer to chatbots than real, feeling humans. But we are impacted deeply. And so are the massage therapists, nurses, osteopaths, and physicians I work with. That’s why The Healer’s Compass matters. It’s not just about burnout prevention, it’s about rewriting the narrative of what it means to care, and equipping professionals with tools that honour both their clients’ needs and their own humanity.
Lindsey Thomson RP, CCC, M.Ed Registered Psychotherapist,
Canadian Certified Counsellor Founder, Momentum Mindset Psychotherapy and Consulting
mymomentummind@gmail.com linktr.ee/momentummindset
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