I took a break from social media
Over the past four months, I’ve fielded a lot of questions about why I suddenly disappeared from YCBAT both in posting and podcasting. I mostly answered with variations of “life got really busy, my caseload increased, and I just didn’t have the time.” Even though these things are true, it is not the whole truth.
When my “what to do when someone’s crying” video went semi-viral in May of this year, I was shocked, to say the least. I remember gaining over 1,000 followers in a day as the reel climbed to 300,000 views. By the time that reel’s performance plateaued, it had landed at 570,000 plays and my account went from around 100 followers to 7,000.
Suddenly users from all over the world were commenting on my reels, asking me to make more, some trolling, others asking my ethnicity, it was all over the place! More people started listening to my podcast and DM-ing me sharing their takeaways and how helpful it was in their grad school decision-making process. That was sweet.
The thing is, I never expected for my account to reach this many people. I had an idea last December (2022) about starting a podcast to try and help therapists in training. I wanted to emphasize that there is no perfect way to enter this profession and no one is disqualified, no matter what they may have been through in life. As long as you’re willing to heal, grow, and practice daily empathy, there is a space for you in this field.
Naturally, the question arose, how should I share about this new project? Obvious answer: social media. So, @potentialtherapist was created and well, you know the rest.
In August 2023 as season two of the podcast was reaching an end, I began to feel overwhelmed. My husband and I were moving into a new space about an hour from where we lived before, my caseload increased and brought me up to full-time at my practice, and my posts got less consistent. I felt pressure to keep making videos, find new “tips” to share, and found myself uneasy at making blanket statements on the internet.
So I stopped. For all my black and white thinkers out there — I think you know this feeling.
Recently, I had another person ask me about the YCBAT. A few times. Their enthusiasm caused me to reflect…why did I actually stop creating when I had just expanded my reach so drastically? The answer that came forward was surprisingly simple.
Therapists don’t give advice - but that felt like exactly what people wanted from me in many of the comments and messages I was receiving. If I don’t give advice in my sessions, why would I post videos giving people I’ve never met “advice?” I think this discomfort led me to push away what I was initially so excited to create.
Then I got challenged with a reframe.
While sharing my thoughts with my non-therapist husband, he said succinctly: “You’re not giving advice, you’re sharing the education you received with other people. You do psychoeducation in your sessions, it’s like that.”
It felt like a part of my brain was unlocked. I looked back at my videos - he was right. Providing psychoeducation is one of my favorite things to do in sessions with new clients, clearly sharing just what treatment method they were walking into in working with me. Of course, I naturally leaned toward education sharing in the short form content platform that is Instagram.
Since then my brain has been busy sending me ideas about how to continue YCBAT in a sustainable, (I still have my full caseload *which I love) educational (the tip videos aren’t going away!), and inclusive (bringing in other therapists with different life experiences) way.
Thanks for sticking with me. More words to share soon.
— Sophie K
