Dear Therapists: I SEE YOU.
This is an open letter to every mental health professional who has shown up throughout the pandemic—holding space for others while navigating their own emotional fatigue. To those who’ve watched isolation chip away at clients’ hard-won progress, who’ve managed their own anxiety while absorbing everyone else’s, who’ve endured the mental and physical toll of endless Zoom sessions: this is for you.
We Entered This Work to Help—and We Are Needed Now More Than Ever
Many of us chose this profession because we wanted to help people heal. We didn’t expect to be navigating a collective trauma in real time. The mental health crisis stemming from this pandemic isn’t looming—it’s already here—and our ability to remain present and grounded with clients is being tested daily.
We are not always seen as front-line workers. Resources and attention, rightly so, have been directed toward medical professionals treating COVID-19 face-to-face. But the emotional labor we’re performing—often invisibly—also matters. And while our work may not be televised or spotlighted, it is essential.
Feeling Invisible—and Letting That Be Okay
At first, I thought about writing a paragraph on how we could combat this invisibility. But I realized what we may need more than action is acknowledgment. A chance to pause and name what we’re feeling—grief, helplessness, burnout.
What I personally find hardest to carry is helplessness:
Helplessness in the face of a situation I cannot fix.
Helplessness when mental health is deprioritized by media and policymakers—even in a crisis.
Helplessness when trying to explain the emotional toll of this work to those who aren’t in it.
Helplessness when I see clients reverting to maladaptive coping just to get through the day.
Helplessness when Zoom fatigue makes me feel too drained to support my own family.
It feels like I’m constantly feeling. And I am exhausted.
To the Therapists Holding It All Together: I See You
If you’re a therapist reading this: I see you. I appreciate you. I know how hard you’re working—not just clinically, but emotionally. This is a chapter of our careers we didn’t train for, and yet we are showing up, session after session, with compassion and presence.
This won’t last forever. But even now, in the messy middle, we’re doing important work. We’re holding the line.
We will get through this together.
Supporting the Supporters
At Empowering You, we recognize that therapists and mental health professionals need care too. Whether you’re seeking peer support, supervision, or your own therapy during this time, we honor your role and offer space for you to be supported in return.
If you’re a clinician feeling overwhelmed, unseen, or emotionally worn down, reach out today. You give so much—you deserve care, too.
