How to Navigate Slow Seasons and Protect Your Peace During the Holidays

Camille McDaniel (03:12.758)
Welcome back to Christ in Private Practice. Thank you for joining me for another episode. We’re going to jump into a topic today that I think everybody who has been in practice can relate to and for those who might be planning for practice, it’s something that will allow you to kind of get ahead and get your mind set on when these seasons come. And so we’re going to kind of talk about what to do when your client

Client or the number of client sessions rather I should say kind of slows down And you might even feel a little a little bit weary about it Especially going into the holidays and going into the holidays at this point in time in the world where there are so many different things coming at us coming at our clients and we might feel just a little unsure of what next steps to take because there’s just so much going on

And we might notice that we’re not getting as many potential clients calling us or emailing us to find out about possible appointments. Or maybe if you offer other services like trainings or some other offering like a book or groups, you might notice that there may not be as many purchases or not as many signups. And so again, during this time where you start to notice certain things,

are slowing down, you might find yourself just kind of questioning, Lord, is this slow down a sign that something is wrong? Or is this just a sacred time that you’re giving me to actually rest? And so we’re going to talk a little bit about how to steward our time when things slow down and to do it with wisdom and how to find rest without feeling guilty and how to really

position our hearts and our minds and our business for what’s to come. Because if we plant well now, we will harvest well later. And so let’s kind of look at a scripture to guide us as we’re moving forward through this episode together. And that’s gonna be from the book of Galatians chapter six and verse nine.

Camille McDaniel (05:37.602)
And it says, let us not grow weary while doing good for in due season. We shall reap if we do not lose heart. Okay. So again, this is going to definitely stretch us and call a measure of faith, obviously to increase and allow us to not be dismayed by what we are seeing, but to

press forward and know that our time will come. And we’re gonna kind of talk about that because when you talk about like seasons, slow down doesn’t always mean anything negative really. It’s not always because you did something wrong. Sometimes it is actually for preparation, for protection.

And so think of like the seasons literally in nature. There is a reason for all of the different seasons. know where some of you all live, you may not have a lot of variation of seasons, but you can kind of still think about it as it relates to farming and growing and just nature in general, whether you’re farming or not or homesteading or not.

You know, there is a season where the ground needs to rest or there are certain times where you have planted and and toiled and reaped and planted and toiled and reaped and you got to give the ground a rest so that it can rejuvenate itself, replenish all of the nutrients that have been used for whatever is growing, whether it’s trees, whether it’s food.

You know, and then as you give that ground time to rest and just do nothing, you can move on to another plot of land in order to kind of start new. So, you know, whether you’re talking about that, everybody knows that part and like kind of who grow, grow food or things like that. When you talk about the seasons, know, winter comes before spring.

Camille McDaniel (07:58.582)
And what does that actually do? It also gives the soil some time to rest. And roots actually kind of, you know, do their thing, whether they are going to plant, because there might be seeds from the last harvest that have now fallen into the ground, and they are now kind of slowly growing roots. You don’t even know what’s really going on because it’s unseen. But there’s a lot.

that is going on when the ground is resting that we cannot see. There’s still life happening. But you know, it’s hidden work and that’s kind of the same thing in your practice. You know, it’s a time sometimes to just do the hidden work. So God might be giving you this window of time. It may not at all be anything wrong that

that you’ve done, although you want to definitely take an assessment and you want to reflect, that’s always going to be wise. But you know, the Lord will give you rest even in your business. And we don’t want to overlook that and think like something negative is going on. I know I’ve had many different times where there have been over the years times where I’ve looked in my calendar, just kind of cleared out. But if I was

Really sitting and thinking and assessing it needed to clear out. I was exhausted, but I would have kept on going I would have kept those Those sessions right on the calendar knowing how exhausted I was and so it was really like divine intervention that allowed me to take much needed rest and you know what when I when I calculated often times those sessions came right back to me in following weeks as in

Like I had more sessions in following weeks than I normally would have, but I absolutely had rested and had the ability to go the extra mile. So I didn’t really lose any clients. It was just a reshifting of my time and of my, you know, my energy so that I could rejuvenate in that time. So we don’t want to panic all the time when things are slowing down and decreasing.

Camille McDaniel (10:20.748)
especially going into certain times of the year where we know that can be the case. And so we always want to seek the Lord’s wisdom. You we always want to seek an answer from him and ask him, you know, what is it that you want me to do in this quieter season? What is it that you want me to to get out of this quieter season and what, things need to grow behind the scenes within me?

within my business so that there can be new fruit to come during seasons where growth then becomes very clear and outright. So there’s a lot of things that we do behind the scenes that everybody may not know we’re doing, a lot of work that we might be preparing, that we might be executing, that we don’t even talk about, all of that kind of toiling behind the scenes.

Well, there is a season where all of the effort will become known and then you’ll be able to see, you know, all the fruits of our labor. But there is a point in time where sometimes you just do quiet things. It’s not a lot of energy that you’re putting out all the time. You’re human. You you’re not a machine. So let’s kind of take this same growing theme, if you will, and…

And let’s kind of talk about like how we can, you know, plant certain things in our business when our business is a little bit slower and allow us to be in preparation and steward our mind, our time, our business well. know, stewardship is about what’s in front of you right now. What’s in your hands right now. You know, so

Here are some things that we can do to really plant, if you will, during times of slow movement in our business or some decline. And the first thing we wanna do is we wanna just evaluate. I talked about just a couple seconds ago, you wanna still take an assessment. So you want to evaluate your practice operations. This is a perfect time to make sure that

Camille McDaniel (12:44.17)
any of your forms, any of your other documents outside of your intake forms. Other documents might be resources that you provide to your clients. They might be info sheets. They might be lists, for example, referral lists, know, website, you know, is your website current? Does it reflect all of the right wording to allow people to make an informed decision about coming to you or not?

Does it reflect all of the current services that you provide? Have you had any changes in your specialization? This is a time to reflect on all of the foundation that you have for your practice. Make sure that your messaging is very clear and welcoming, especially if you’re talking about faith integration. Make sure that your messaging gives

clear informed consent about your faith integration practices and what that looks like or maybe even if you have a newsletter yourself that goes out maybe once a month or more frequently less frequently but you know, could your email or your newsletters be Kind of tightened up a bit. Could it be a little bit better? Could you be giving people a little bit more of what they’re needing?

Do you need to simplify the process? Do you need to get some type of? Email management system at this point in time, you know So take a look at what’s going on and you can start to make small changes now and Small upgrades now that can really give you a lot of comfort and peace about how you’re doing things later

So you’re not scrambling to try to figure things out later. You’ve already kind of tweaked and assessed and made necessary changes. The next thing, the next seed that you can plant can be relationship seeds. So reconnect with referral sources or reconnect with individuals that you have kind of whether online or in person.

Camille McDaniel (15:00.12)
kind of connected with, or it seems as though you all have some things in common, or maybe your services may not be the same, but they actually partner well together. And so this person might be a good referral source for you, or taking a look at just who you have partnered with in the past, or have been pretty friendly with in the past, especially if they happen to be.

Referral sources like pastors physicians people in the community parts of people in the community They are a part of organizations that might that you might be able to help and benefit in some way You know just stop Reconnecting a little bit, you know, you can send an email you can drop a note in the mail you know, just something to let them know that I just wanted to wanted to connect and

maybe even wishing you a very peaceful and a prosperous holiday season. Thanksgiving is right around the corner. It really isn’t that far away actually. And so with all of that, you want to maybe take a look at, might I kind of do a play on Thanksgiving? Sending out individuals like cards, messages,

to let them know how thankful you are for the connection that you have with them in serving your community or serving people in a specific area of need. So yeah, start kind of just letting them know that you’re thinking about them. And also if you are available for additional referrals and they know of someone who is in need, let them know you are available.

to support more individuals. Remember, when you’re doing that, it actually falls under the umbrella of marketing. And I know people don’t really like the term marketing because that to some feels real fake. And I don’t, well, I do know why it feels fake. I was gonna say, and I don’t know why it does because you’re supposed to be doing that with a very genuine heart and, you know, passion about what you’re doing. But I do understand how

Camille McDaniel (17:21.388)
Society has used marketing. We’ve talked about that in other episodes. So I do get it but just know reaching out and making genuine connections is a part of the the way that you will allow yourself to stay in the minds of those individuals who could then potentially send more people who are needing support your way and It’s it’s not so much marketing. But again, it’s more like your calling

your ministry when you are doing it authentically. Yeah, you’re not doing it just because you’re like, I need more people. No, you’re doing it because right now you have time. You have time to actually connect with people in very genuine ways. So plant those seeds. The next thing that we want to look at are visibility seeds. you know,

How are you nurturing what’s already out there, like your directory listings? So you may be listed on a number of directories. There are a lot of different counseling directories that are out there. And so you wanna just make sure that you’ve updated your directories. Or if you happen to have a business listing on like Google or another platform, is it updated? Does it reflect the proper times of operation and the hours that you operate?

telephone number, address, your specializations are the words that you’re using essentially to share who you are and what you can do to help other people. Like is that fresh? Is that updated? So go ahead and just kind of take a look and make sure that your practice is being distinctly.

characterized in a way that allows people to know that, this person gets my need, they understand my pain points, and I think that they could really help me, especially for those individuals who might be looking for faith integration into their counseling experience. Do you have that listed anywhere so that people would know that that is something they might be able to receive from you?

Camille McDaniel (19:35.926)
So your next wave, I mean, you never know your next wave of clients, they very well may find you because you have refreshed your message, you know. And again, this is not out of fear. This is about stewarding the time that we have wisely so that we can be more effective, so that we can have better reach, so that the individuals who really need us can find us. And next, let’s look at like planting seeds.

After planting seeds of visibility planting seeds for the soul. So, you know, this is This is a time to just nurture yourself You know nurture yourself which allows you to nurture friends and family and you know relationships marriages and and it just does so much when you allow yourself to really receive the downtime the slowness

So use this time to study something that really ignites your passion for the work that you’re supposed to be doing. Use this time to rest, to relax, to dive into a really good book or some really nice music and cozy up under a really nice feeling blanket with some warm socks on if you enjoy that.

If you’re someone whose body gets hot well just relax in your in your favorite most comfortable lightweight outfit, right, you know Just let your body rejuvenate itself during this time Maybe while you are just kind of relaxing even if you’re somebody who can get into a wonderfully relaxed position But that makes you want to kind of learn a little something is the perfect quiet? Peaceful time to maybe get some

some of that extra learning in that you have been wanting to do for a long time, sign up for a CE course. Grab some CEs. We’re about to be coming into a renewal year, so you’re going to need some CEs. Look at what you can do. Make sure that you’re really up on your word. So dive into your Bible and reread things that you have.

Camille McDaniel (22:00.638)
Already read, you know, the Bible is a living word You’ve heard that phrase before the living word and that’s because you go through and you can read the same chapters the same passages and receive a a new revelation every Time so go back through and read what you’ve already read and take notes about what the Lord is sharing

and what he’s speaking to you at this point in time. Go over things for your business. Revisit your mission and your vision statements or start a mission and vision statement if you haven’t already. Start even pruning. Pruning certain projects. Maybe there’s some services that you offer.

that really they don’t fit your business model. They don’t fit your business model because the Lord has moved you in a different direction. All right, well, start letting go of things that don’t fit anymore in your business. know, that’s all using and stewarding the time well. And the Lord sees the obedience and the care.

and the effort during this time. Let’s kind of move ourselves into kind of talking about the holidays and guarding our peace because, my goodness, the holidays. Like I just said, Thanksgiving is not that far away. And before you know it, it just keeps rolling from there. There are just so many different holidays that come at this particular time of the year. And it can be a

kind of a little bit of a bittersweet time for therapists because we find ourselves maybe helping prepare a lot of clients who might be struggling at this time of the year while there are, you know, some people who are just super excited about the holidays to come. We know as mental health professionals, there are also a subset of people who are

Camille McDaniel (24:22.158)
finding themselves grieving this time of the year, they’re lonely, there’s tension brewing. And again, because of everything that’s going on in the world at this particular time, that all might be magnified. And so we are managing client dynamics and things that they are going through that might be triggered by…

the things going on in the world as well as the time of year that we are walking into and then we are managing our own personal dynamics and then our own family dynamics and and we might find ourselves really tired. So we want to look at making sure that we are also protecting our own peace during this season and that’s why this this pause this slowdown

It is so important. so we want to hear some things, write them down, take a note, put it somewhere you are going to be reminded of so that you don’t let this slip away from you because it can just find, you can find that you kind of have good intentions of protecting your…

your mind, your body, your spirit during this busy season as far as preparation and planning. But then before you know it kind of overtakes you and then you’re doing too much. So number one is let’s pause and be very intentional about our pause. As in like schedule on your calendar downtime.

No, seriously schedule on your calendar some downtime. If you are listening and you are in a position right now to grab your phone calendar, whatever, whether it’s electronic, whether it’s pencil paper, whatever it is, where are you going to put in downtime? Okay, yeah, please. Block off your resting days. Put it on your calendar. This is literally like taking

Camille McDaniel (26:38.35)
You know a Sabbath for some people for some people at this time of the year they literally just take a whole sabbatical but Taking some rest it is literally Safety for your body safety for your mind and soul it is to help you not crash out Because our bodies will start to just get weak

our immune systems will weaken, our mind is not as clear or creative. We’re just exhausted. The next thing outside of making sure that you are pausing and being very intentional about your pause is we wanna go ahead and take time where you’re also going to be in prayer before you start planning. So before you actually…

Fill your calendar with ways to market and ways to, which ways am I going to actually position myself for the next new year, and family activities and all of that. You really wanna be in prayer that the Father really helps you to not take on things that are not assigned to you, that you stay within your lane, within your calling, within…

the mission that he has shown you or given to you or will give to you for each season that you are in. And allow the Lord to look over all of your intentions, all the things that you have planned on doing, all the things that you thought were great ideas, and help and allow him to help you to edit that wherever you need it to be edited.

Some things might need to come off the list for right now. Some things are spot on and need to stay. Invite him into the entire process. number three is plan with purpose. So choose a task and also a personal boundary. So you’re gonna choose a task to work on.

Camille McDaniel (28:54.968)
but you’re also going to choose a boundary to implement. And that is gonna be wonderful because you’re gonna just keep rocking and rolling with this through the seasons and it will be of great help to you. So for example, let’s say the task that you’re doing is you’re going to update your referral list. So as we talked about a little bit earlier, your referral list.

you may need to put some people on that referral list that you have connected with. Maybe there are some people that need to be taken off. I remember I had a referral list I was going through and noticed that some people had retired. Some people were going to be retiring in the next month or two, so I needed to take them off of the referral list. So, know, whatever it, however it needs to change, but let’s say you’re going to update that referral list. So that’s the task that you’re working on. But then,

the boundary that you’re gonna put in place is that you’re going to stop doing tasks after a certain time or stop answering emails after a certain time if that’s the task you’re doing. So it’s like, okay, I’m going to update my referral list and then I’m going to clean out my email inbox. But I am going to stop doing this.

And I won’t do it any later or I won’t do any more after 630 or after 7pm. And that helps you, again, having those boundaries in place helps you to really keep peace restored so that you are just not finding yourself kind of working on tasks way into the evening and neglecting some of your other relationships and neglecting yourself so that you can be

productive in this low season. We wanna be able to have balance in all of that. So make sure that you are planning, but you have a purpose around your planning that allows a healthy boundary to be exercised every time. And protect your peace. So, in protecting your peace, let’s look at how can we start sessions, especially, and I cannot stress enough,

Camille McDaniel (31:09.376)
especially during times where things are really hectic in the world, things may be really hectic for your clients, things might be hectic in your own family and for yourself. How can we start to implement and to just have more peace within us? Because we all want the peace that surpasses all understanding that the Bible talks about. so,

What does it look like for us to just lean into what the Lord is allowing to come into our lives at this time and allow ourselves to have peace no matter what’s going on in the world, no matter what’s going on with our clients, no matter what’s going on with ourselves. So starting each session or before each of your sessions start, you can even have some prayer time. You can have some gratitude time. You know, just be in deep reflection.

be in deep breathing, deep breathing, deep reflection, deep gratitude, and a prayer. How about even like, you know, when you have a break during your day, which please, if you’re not scheduling breaks, schedule them. And during that time, that’s where, again, you’re going to nourish your body, you’re gonna hydrate your body. Maybe you’re gonna even listen to something that is really uplifting.

You know, whatever that might be for you. Maybe you’re gonna read something that’s uplifting You’re gonna give yourself sufficient time block off an hour if you can block off a little bit more time Do that as well take those take those breaks allow yourself to go for a walk You know, though the weather might be a little bit chilly, but at least it’s not super hot So for some people it really works out well for their health. So go for a walk now bring your sneakers so that you can

Slide those bad boys on and go out and walk around the complex or walk around the building. Do things that are going to allow you to release and just lean into just the peace that surrounds you if you slow down, if you just slow down. Take time and pray over your clients and the weight of what they carry. Pray over yourself. Pray for your colleagues. know, remind yourself that you’re

Camille McDaniel (33:32.044)
You’re not the one that has to heal them fully through and through. That is the Lord’s work. And he does things in his time. But you are there to help. You are there to guide. You are there to inform. You are there to be a catalyst for change. You are there to support. But you are not the one who is there to completely, you know, create all healing. And so just

And I know you know that, I know a lot of us know that, but sometimes when we get rocking and rolling into what we are doing, we can find ourselves kind of going all in and totally exhausting ourselves with the process. those are the four points I want you to just take note, write them down, make sure that you are.

Tweaking it to apply directly to what’s going on in your life, but that you are up Holding that no matter what all right, you know and And remember don’t don’t worry about like what if things don’t pick up what if what if client calls don’t increase? What if people don’t sign up for the group and they don’t sign up for the training, you know, what? What do I do then and remember at that point in time?

That is where your faith is going to kick in. Again, remember the passage, Galatians 6 and 9. We do not want to grow weary and just find ourselves feeling like, well, don’t even know if this is for me anymore. I don’t even know if this is where I’m supposed to be anymore. I don’t even know if this is, I don’t even know if like helping people in this way. I don’t know. It’s like, well, wait a minute, you know.

Hold on. Maybe you are needing some support. Maybe you are needing someone to stand in the gap for you. And we’re here. Whether you contact us online, whether you’re in the group, whether you’re not, maybe you’re listening. I was looking at some of the places that people are listening to the podcast from, and I’m just like, my goodness, even Poland? Maybe you’re far off, but no matter where you are, just know.

Camille McDaniel (35:52.77)
that God’s timeline doesn’t always match our business calendar, but he is faithful. And there are others here who want to walk the journey with you. So please reach out because you’re absolutely not alone and you don’t have to be secluded. Sometimes slow downs in life is God’s way of letting us know that he’s just preparing us, preparing our business.

for a harvest that is to come again, if we don’t grow weary and if we are intentional and if we accept the slow down. So, you know, what I want you to think of is what is the Lord asking you to actually tend to, to steward at this particular season of your life? Yeah.

And what kind of seeds are you going to sow at this particular time? And what boundaries are you going to put in place? So take a few moments after this episode and write some of these questions down in your journal. Write them down and start answering them for yourself so that you can really start moving forward in accepting the times of slowness so that you are prepared for the times of plenty.

And so ultimately what we’re going to do is we’re going to update our workflows. We’re going to connect with people. We’re going to block off time for true rest before all of the holiday madness comes into play. We’re going to pray and pray some more. And we’re going to look forward to the upcoming new year, the next season.

And we’re gonna walk into the next season with peace and with clarity and with fresh step and renewed momentum. I love that renewed momentum. remember, you don’t have to do this alone. We are here. If this episode has encouraged you in any way at all, please share it with another counselor who seeks to integrate.

Camille McDaniel (38:18.862)
Christ into their practice and who is looking for peace during this time. And don’t forget, join us. We’re on Facebook. We have a Facebook group, so jump right on in. Please answer the questions. Answer the questions. It helps me to make sure that it’s not a spam account trying to join the group, that it’s actually like a real student of mental health or professional fully.

full professional of mental health. yeah, join us over on the Facebook group as well. And there are more resources on the website and you can go to christinprivatepractice.com. Again, that’s www.christinprivatepractice.com for resources and other faith-based guidance for therapists. So I hope that this gives you a lot to think about.

as we are moving into a lot going on in the world and a lot going on in these upcoming months. And with all of it, I just want you to know that you are supported, that you are appreciated for all that you are doing in your community, in your family, in the world at large. Until we meet again, God bless and I look forward.

to speaking with you.