The PDA Mirror
A 6-session group consultation experience for therapists ready to examine not only how demand avoidance shapes those they support, but also how it shapes their own professional identity.
A Demand Aware Practice offering | Emen Counseling Services, LLC
THE USUAL ADVICE FALLS SHORT
A lot of what gets offered to therapists approaching burnout assumes the fix is more self-care, better boundaries, or more training…
and when none of that has worked,
it's tempting to conclude you weren't cut out for this.
The truth is therapeutic presence was never meant to fix what's historically and systemically broken.
We are here to witness pain, acknowledge it, and share the load. In order to do that sustainably, we are required to bring our own life into more alignment,
acknowledge our own pain and discomfort, and build real capacity for sitting with what's hard
not just for our clients, but for ourselves.
The PDA Mirror will open up possibility for those who need:
Clarity
how you arrived at burnout, and what continues to deplete your energy;
whether staying in your role, your workplace, or the field of therapy is sustainable;
what you truly want, underneath what you've been told to want, named without shame.
Capacity
from accurate understand of self, capacity resources can be preserved and used more effectively;
confidence and ability uncovered;
movement in the direction you want, no more staying stuck in confusion OR the sense that you are running away.
Connection
with others in the field who are sensing the same misalignment, who can move into the next phase alongside you.
From depleted and misaligned → →→
Clear on how you got here →→→
Clear on what you want next →→→
and ready to take the first step!
5 Demands Therapists Absorb Regularly
A PDA informed look at the invisible costs of doing this work, and why the usual advice hasn’t helped…
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Remember that feeling you had when you first decided to become a therapist?
…that feeling you had when you first started graduate school?
…your clinical internship?
…how you felt after your very first client session?
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Most explanations for surviving or thriving as a therapist point back at YOU with short-sighted suggestions:
…hold boundaries, do more self-care, lower your caseload, seek therapy for yourself, create more work-life balance, switch off thinking about your clients before you go home, diversify your income…
IT’s TIME TO THINK BIGGER
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A PDA (Pervasive Drive for Autonomy) Lens on the Accumulating Costs of Being a Therapist
The PDA Mirror is a group consultation and community building experience
for therapists who are questioning their path.
You’re tired of questioning your efficacy and desire to do this work without certainty for what change is needed…
You know something isn't aligned and are considering what’s next for you…
You are on the verge of burnout or already in it, and aren't sure you are ready to leave this work, but can't keep going the way they have been.
Most of what we were taught about being a good therapist is performance: staying calm, holding space, creating change.
We weren’t taught what to do when that isn’t “working”, and the weight of being a therapist is taking its toll.
FORMAT:
Virtual group consultation and community building
6-sessions over three months
90 minute group gatherings
Option to join The Holding Space on in between weeks (details below)
4–8 therapists per community cohort
Cohort 1: Begins October 21st 2026, 12pm EST
What brought most of us to this field was the work we needed to do within ourselves.
This group returns you to that early hope: a focus on the therapist’s journey as a compass for what to sustain, what to change, and what to let go.
You Belong With Us If:
You’re a new or experienced therapist carrying more than you anticipated.
…questioning your efficacy or desire to stay in the field.
You’re a professional who senses the misalignment in their practice, their caseload, and their identity, but haven't had a break or space to examine it.
You’re not sure sure you are ready to leave, but can't keep going the way you have been.
Sessions · 6 group meetings over 3 months, every other week
Length · 90 minutes VIRTUAL gathering
Group · 4–8 therapists per cohort
Structure · Process-oriented · Consultation via, psycho-education & embodied activities introduced as the group calls for them, not by agenda
Bonus: between sessions- drop into ·
The Holding Space
an optional biweekly container, one hour to release and restore
Entry point · Session 1 available as a standalone for therapists considering committing to the entire series
Group Structure:
Investment:
Full Rate: $540 6 biweekly group sessions +access to The Holding Space
Founding Cohort Rate: $375 (spaces limited) 6 biweekly group sessions + access to The Holding Space + 60-minute 1:1 with Liz Emen
Redeemable anytime, no expiration.
Try It First: $75 Attend Session 1 as a standalone, then decide, add the remaining 5 sessions, at $465
The Six Group Sessions
The PDA Mirror:
Gathering 1:
Why Did I Sign Up for This?
Gathering and reflection on the therapist’s journey and what brought you here. Your origin story, professional, personal, and everything in between, becomes the compass for what you want to sustain, what needs to change, and whether this path still fits.
Available as a standalone session for therapists interested in the full series and desiring more clarity on what is to come.
Gatherings 2-5:
Learning to Be a Therapist Is Often Learning to Perform Healing
They Don't Want Your Calm: Prioritizing Connection with Self and Others
The Clients Who Won't Let You Help, and the Mirror they Hold Up
Your Core Motivation & the Costs You’ve Paid
The Structures that are Holding Us, or Dropping Us: Finding Alignment and Taking the Next Step
Your training taught you to deliver healing, likely leaving out the essential workings of your humanity and nervous system and how it facilitates this process…
What clients need is to feel that you can be in your feelings while not drowning in theirs.
A client's rejection of therapy can be therapeutic.
Often, the most therapeutic thing you can offer is your sustained presence with no agenda.
Therapy looks entirely different depending on the community you serve
and the system you practice in.
Ten more trainings will not bring you back into alignment.
Restoring your self-trust, grounding in yourself, and confidently taking your next steps.
The Holding Space
Held on alternating weeks between the six formal sessions, different than another group meeting, a container.
A place to bring what spilled over in your week, what you're carrying that is to heavy, and consult on what needs to be let out before you decide to carry more.
An optional drop-in space for therapists who want more consistency, community, and connection.
No agenda, no preparation, and nothing to have figured out before you show up.
Demand Aware Practice
THE GAP
Many of us have been managing our own nervous system capacity through our role as therapist, within structures that are not sustainable over time.
Demand Aware Practice is a clinical framework built around: what becomes possible when you can finally see the gap in
experiencing vs. performing.