In this episode Ben talks with Matt H- a school social worker, who shares how he got from Texas, to scoring touchdowns and how recovering from tragedy helped him toward find his spirit. Matt shares about his childhood adoption, the people that influenced his passion to be the difference he wants to see, and experiences from his first year as a scho…

Join Ben and Blakely as they dig deep to self-care together. They explore the nuances of their mental health, trauma, and the path to healing as a professional helper. They get real with one another with their self-care challenges and navigate the complexities of providing help while also addressing their own vulnerabilities. This episode offers a …

From helping struggling students to cherishing sweet victories, we explore the profound effect of genuine human bonds and the crucial role of vulnerability in connection for those we help, and for ourselves. Here’s a front-row seat to the realities and commitments of our journey of compassion…and to how Casi's passion took her on a bear hunt. Just …

Today we talk about striving for understanding and authenticity with Rachel. She's currently a medical social worker that has worked with children's mental health and a plethora of medical social worker roles. She's the highest paid Bingo-Caller we know! We talk personal history, motivations, humor, care, commitment, and recovery and prevention of …

Today we're on self-care challenge field trip. Blakely's challenge was to embrace her vulnerability and practice loving kindness. And, Ben's challenge was to get out of his head and do some improve. Today, we attend a group meditation and share our experience and reflections on togetherness, spirituality and what's getting in the way of wellness. J…

Today we talk with our Being-the-Work teammate, Sarah. We discuss professional challenges, growth, and the necessity of finding harmony in work and personal life. Sarah shares her journey from stepping away from counseling, how her counseling skills have helped her be a parent she’s is proud of, and her commitment to help others. Just a Note: this …

With a mixture of humor and confrontation, we build on the last two episodes, getting down to the business of setting some self-care challenges for one another based on what we know about each other. Self-care is so much more than mere coping skills. Join us as we face some vulnerabilities and fears and walk our unique paths to wellness, together. …

In this episode we focus on authenticity and compassion for each other and ourselves through facing resilience, acknowledging personal limitations, seeking help, and the impacts of external factors like ADHD and societal expectations. We touch on stories about burnout, dealing with personal traumas, learning about diagnosis of ADHD. We highlight th…

We're back! And, to kick off season 3, Let us introduce ourselves to you. We dive into a discussion about personal traits and their impact on our work, friendship, and journeys with self-care as Professional Helpers and now...Podcast hosts. Don't self-care alone! Let us know about your journey! @beingthework on patreon Email us at: Beingthework@gma…

Support us in our mission of building connections between helping professionals and providing quality content. Our last episode of Season 2! This season we delved into the lives and work of fellow helpers, why they chose this work, why they've stayed, and what they might need to keep going. In this episode Blakely and Ben venture into how money inf…

Support us toward our mission of building connections between helping professionals and providing quality content. We’ll give you a shout out on a future episode! Today Ben talks with an old friend, Danielle, who is a Clinical Professional Counselor. We get to know Danielle through her Strengths Finder, Enneagram, by ironing out an old conflict wit…

Support us toward our mission of building connections between helping professionals and providing quality content. We’ll give you a shout out on a future episode! In this episode, Blakely presents the definition of ritual and the idea that it’s is what is missing from her own self-care. Ben pushes back on Blakely's definition. Blakely, like many of…

Support us toward our mission of building connections between helping professionals and providing quality content. We’ll give you a shout out on a future episode! We’re super excited to have Ben's old supervisor, Annas on BTW this week. We met her to record at the university where she was teaching. Annas shares about her journey to the Helping Fiel…

Support us toward our mission of building connections between helping professionals and providing quality content. We’ll give you a shout out on a future episode! In this episode, Ben talks with Sarah about competition and disconnection with other helpers. He shares his own history on how he used to strive to be the "best counselor ever" and how th…

In this episode, Ben interviews Allison. He and Allison had only heard about each other through the social work grapevine until this interview. Allison shares her personal journey to social work, the stressors she faced, the physical toll it took on her mind and body, and how the personal choices she made for her wellness, her health, and to be tru…

Support us toward our mission of building connections between helping professionals and providing quality content. We’ll give you a shout out on a future episode! In this episode we welcome Sarah. She’s a new addition to our team! Blakely and Ben are balloons and Sarah is a string…every balloon needs a good string to be attached 😊. Welcome, Sarah! …

In this episode, Ben and Blakely talk with Felicity who they met at a conference presentation they gave on Empathy-Stress and Identity. She quickly became a friend with her honesty and humanity. This conversation is open, inspiring and thoughtful. Felicity shares deeply personal stories of her journey to social work, her ideas on self-care and sust…

In this episode Ben and Blakely take on self-care. What makes it work? What gets in the way? Is it the Self-Help sorry "Self-Care" industry? It’s it us? Our relationships? Are we too busy, getting too distracted? Blakely embraces her desire to just be honest and say the "fucked up shit" that's on her mind. She explores her thoughts that we can’t be…

In this episode we answer the question: Will the stress and demands of helping roles will inevitably lead to losing ourselves in fatigue and burnout? We walk through our experiences, what we've tried to avoid losing ourselves, and talk about an abundant resource we rarely use as professionals. Just a Note: this is an uncensored show full of our per…

"Those of us that work in human services and even medical fields, face immense amount of joy and pain while caring for others and, often, failing to care for ourselves. But, Self-care has become an annoying message of 'don't be unethical'...'if you're stressed out it's your fault, you need to take care of it' ...That's Bull-Shit. Why are we expecte…

Hey helpers! This week we're taking umbrage with the concept of "Imposter Syndrome," sharing some readings and intersectional ideas we hope you'll consider in reclaiming some healthy self doubt AND questioning the environmental and relational elements perpetuating your sense of not belonging. It's time to get inclusive out here y'all, tune in, we'r…

This week Ben and Blakely are closely examining the impact of our roles as secret-keepers. One of the sacred foundations of our practice, and the public concept of us, is as locked vaults of human secrets. This containing impacts us, alters our perspective of humanity, and perpetuates some of our loneliness. We can admit we like being 'in on' human…

Hey Helpers! Okay, fine, let's get serious about this looming cloud of *burnout.* Burnout is a beast lurking in the shadows of the helper's life. Culturally many of us are burned out before we even step into the office, then we endure the work there too. Often, the way we define and address the concept of burnout is already working against us. Tune…

Welcome back! This week it's time to get real about help for the helpers. It's essential we have our turn to access support, intervention, wellness - the work. It's also sometimes difficult to surmount an array of barriers deterring us from our own turn on the couch. Healthcare costs, stigma, and other tricky waters must be forged to get our needs …

Hey Helpers, welcome back. We're so glad you're here to join us in exploring the balance of the DOING and the BEING in our work and our lives. Embodying an authentic version of ourselves while managing the workload of therapy and other types of helping can be incredibly challenging. Dive into the dialectic with us; it's messy but worth it. A few FY…

In our second episode, to continue in exploration of WHY we're here, Ben and Blakely share stories regarding those watershed moments in life which led our path to the helping work. Ben took a 'no' and turned it into a 'hell yes,' while Blakely decided she could do it better than Dr. Phil. Thanks, as always, for tuning in to join us in exploring all…

Support us in our mission of building connections between helping professionals and providing quality content. In our inaugural episode, we figure it's worth digging into our origins and constants - why YOU, why THIS work? Along the path Ben shares spiritual experiences and inherent empathy guiding the evolution of his 'Faith,' while Blakely took h…

Hey helpers! Coming fall 2021, two mental health professionals are teaming up for a weekly conversation about what it means to be a human and a helper. The stories of therapists and other helpers are often set aside in order to 'do the work,' but our lives are rich, tragic, exciting, and terrifying too! Join us to dive into the complexities of doin…