5 Ways To Know You’re Ready To Expand Your Skills

We all have continuing education requirements to fulfill. To me, that’s not really the same as deep diving our learning, which is essential for having a successful multi-decade practice.

Off the top of my head, here are five ways to KNOW when you are ready to expand your skill base and get more training. Please share your wisdom and add to the list.

1.You feel a little FRUSTRATED that clients are not getting the relief and making the changes you thought possible when you joined the holy tribe of healing arts practitioners. Impatience and irritation are early indicators of burnout. Expanding your skills rekindles your enthusiasm.

2. You are READY TO GROW your practice and your INCOME with a steady flow of referrals. We all know that the best referral is a referral from a client. When you are getting consistent results, the word starts to spread and you stand out in the community.

3. Clients are REPEATING the same narrative and associated problems. This repetition clearly illuminates a lack of focus and direction. It can lead to a terrible feeling of defeat for both client and therapist. Learning something new brings back focus and direction.

4. You notice that you just don’t seem to care like you used to and may even feel a little bored. Losing the meaning associated with our work can be the death of a satisfying career. Giving your curiosity a place to roam can give meaning back to the meaningful encounters of our work.

5. You are just tired of NOT making a REAL DIFFERENCE. Decades ago when I was still doing talk therapy and only a few years into my career, I got so exhausted by not being able to SEE real difference quickly, I took a woodworking class at a local high school. That was immensely satisfying. I could make something and see the result. We are no different from our clients, we want to see RESULTS.