For many years, I wasn’t sure what my purpose was for my work. It was a constant battle in my head to figure out what work I was “meant” to be doing, and how that would balance with the est of my life (schedules, finances, career paths, relationships, etc). I spent a lot of time and a lot of money training and trying to figure it all out, and moved around to many different settings, classes, studios and paths.

But it always felt like there was a piece missing:

• I didn’t feel like I fit in as an SLP
• Yoga and fitness were fun but I wasn’t sure if they were sustainable
• Health Coaching just wasn’t picking up
• I wanted to help others but I didn’t know exactly how or what that looked like

The main part for me was that I didn’t know how to put everything that I had done and learned together, or see that it could all fit together. It wasn’t until I came back to the SLP field after a very long hiatus (almost 5 years) that I realized the people I wanted to help and reach out to the most were the SLPs.

I always knew that I wanted to help people to feel better in their lives. To me, that meant showing them that they could have more freedom in their daily life and wellness, feel less stressed and stuck, have more energy throughout the day, and feel as if they were doing meaningful work that was sustainable. I wanted to help people have more balance in their lives overall.

Most SLPs I knew go into the field to do all of that and to help others, but were doing it at the cost of their own health and wellness, both physical and mental, and were really struggling with their career choice.  Some were even, much like me, debating if they had made the wrong choice. This was mostly due to the constant stress and demands of the field, but also to the general giving nature of the work, built into a society and culture that doesn’t pride itself on taking care of yourself. The problem for SLPs is that when you give so much, and never give back to yourself, you burn out really hard and really fast.

I started working with SLPs, reaching out for coaching, FB groups and writing blogs. I had done this in the past, with no real audience to work with, and I usually heard crickets. But this time was different because I was different. I knew who I wanted to talk to and what I wanted to share with them – ways to reduce stress and prevent burn out. I wanted to share how to find more balance in their live and passion for their careers.

I would hear back from people in groups, via email and on social media. Eventually, I decided to offer coaching programs and help others more directly. And then I decided that maybe, just maybe, I could take this to a bigger stage, to reach more people who were feeling the stress and overwhelm of being an SLP.

So I put it all together and replied to the ASHA Convention Call for Papers.

• I thought they would laugh
• I thought they would think it was silly
• I thought they would say “No, that’s not what out convention is about”

But instead, they accepted my application and I will be presenting a poster presentation at this years 2018 ASHA convention!

Honestly, I have felt a lot of heartbreak over the years in my career choices and path, but there has always been another voice that guided me to keep going and trust my instincts and intuition. This is what led me to teach yoga and meditation, to get back into speech, to do this work and to apply to ASHA. It’s moments like this that make it all worth it and keep me doing this work.

On Thursday, November 15th from 1:30-3pm, I will be giving 15 minute talks on Balanced Living for the SLP: Burn Out & Stress Management Using Mindfulness & Self-Care 

Poster presentations give you the opportunity to hear form a LOT of people on various subjects, but to also be more engaged with them. If you attend the session, you get to ask questions, share your experience and learn how to work through your challenges. And after the sessions end, the posters remain up throughout the day.

As you start to fill out your schedule for the long weekend, make sure to leave a few minutes to come see me. And if you can’t make it during the session scheduled time, send me an email and we can meet up or I can answer any questions you have.

I can’t wait to continue this journey, so that more SLPs can learn how to manage the stress that they struggle with each day. Together we can work through this and find more balance in our SLP life.

Thank you all for supporting my dreams and work, and for working so hard to find your own as well.

I’ll see you at ASHA.

Much Love,