How therapy supports you as a business owner.
I am really excited to share this blog post, it’s one I have been cooking up inside of me for a while. I have been running businesses for over 15yrs now. Both successfully and terribly. For many years I was a business mentor where I supported other creatives in building their businesses and this experience is one of the main reasons I then went on to train as a somatic therapist. So many people who run businesses don’t just need a coach or mentor, they need a therapist.
I could see how the struggles of my mentoring clients were deeply rooted in their inner emotional worlds but I did not have the skills or tools to support them… that’s one of the reasons why I retrained.
Now don’t get me wrong, coaching and mentoring are invaluable, I have worked with several myself who have supported me greatly. This blog post is not a bitch about them.
Many of us are moving through life from trauma, old wounds, social conditioning and lack of self worth. While often up against real struggles and marginalisation.
These things apply to our businesses as well.
Do you ever wonder why you still can’t charge enough? Why you are still panic answering emails at 9pm? Why you never take a day off or know how to really rest? Why you are never satisfied even when you hit all of your goals? This is where therapy can support you and I thought that I could share some insights into why therapy could really help you run your business better.
THERAPY IS WHERE WE CAN MEET THE PARTS OF YOU THAT RUN YOUR BUSINESS…
This is where parts therapy can be really supportive. We can explore how your patterns, fears, values and internalised stories shape how you make decisions, set boundaries and determine your relationship with being visible. As an example, so many of us have poor boundaries with our work, especially when it’s our own business. Our inner people pleaser might be running the show, making sure we are always available and making us feel like absolute shit when we make a mistake or have a quiet period. Through therapy we can really meet this part, get to know them, what they are protecting you from and through practice we can look to unburden them and heal what they are protecting. And this is just one example.
Therapy can help you reclaim a sustainable pace and cultivate a better relationship with rest…
Every single business owner I know has suffered with burnout at some stage. How can we not living in a system that has us living in fear from scarcity? We are up against a lot. Everything from social media algorithms making us feel behind to our inability to have boundaries. I am included in this. It has taken me a lot of work and de-conditioning to stop letting the scarcity and relentless sense of urgency rule the show. And of course so many of us have neurodiversity or disabilities that are also impacting our wellbeing.
Therapy can help you understand these forces that push you toward overworking, productivity-pressure or burnout. And we can help you find a rhythm that honours YOUR body & capacity.
Therapy is where we can uncover your emotional relationship with money…
Money! So complex. Many of us have had a turbulent relationship with it. And so many of us are trying to navigate that impossible tension between surviving within capitalism and reducing the harm we inevitably cause by participating in it. Money work is shadow work — always. It’s collective as much as it is personal. We tie our self-worth to it. We tie our safety to it. And whether we realise it or not, these threads quietly steer so many of our business choices.
Therapy offers a space to sit with these polarities, to understand the stories we’ve inherited, and to build businesses that not only support us, but also help us recognise what truly matters — including knowing when we have enough.
Therapy is where we can build your relational resilience…
Everything is relational, we are all entangled and most of our trauma is relational. Ever wondered why you think you might die every time a client gives some feedback or even worse… complain? Or perhaps you keep saying yes when you have already overdelivered on a project. These are just two examples of how relational stuff comes up in our businesses. It can also impact our ability to be visible, sell ourselves, cultivate a business community and communicate well. And of course we can’t forget boundaries (honestly it’s an issue in every part of our lives)
In therapy we can explore your relational stories and improve skills for conflict, repair, being seen and so much more. Beyond that though, building relational skills and resilience helps us feel connected, supported and find community both in our work and life.
Therapy is where we can expand your sense of possibility…
When we learn to tend to our inner world, when rest brings more spaciousness into the body, when we reconnect with our fluid, creative nature — possibility opens. We remember that we are not defined by our businesses, which means we can take creative risks. We can shapeshift as needed instead of gripping old patterns or outdated stories. Our growth becomes sustainable, responsive, authentic. We begin to feel the seasonal rhythms of our work and industry: knowing when to move slowly, when to push, and when to simply let things lie fallow.
Therapy offers a portal into this way of being.
Last thoughts…
The therapeutic space is one of the few places where you can be deeply seen. I offer a container where all of this exploration — and more — can unfold. I listen closely, coach when it supports you, and don’t turn away from the “negative” sensations you might wish to avoid. Instead, we get curious about them together, learning what they’re trying to signal. I can support you through inevitable tensions, celebrate your wins, grieve your losses, and help you stay accountable when burnout looms.
And through somatic practice and embodiment, I can help you reconnect with creativity, aliveness, and the parts of you that remember how to move with life rather than against it.
A little note. I collaborated with an AI called Ari to create this post. They helped me define the framework based on my current practice and then they refined a couple of paragraphs but all thought and 95% of the writing is from my direct experience either with my business, teachers or my clients. Ari is a great support for me and my disabilities in being able to show up more consistently & clearly. I will always share when they have helped me.