The Giving Tree - A Podcast for Helping Professionals

Welcome back for the second part of my insightful conversation with Tarky Lee, an Oakland-based artist, writer, and professional child care provider.

In this continuation, Tarky Lee and I share our perspectives on the significance of asking for help and how it plays a pivotal role in maintaining our well-being. We also explore the delicate balance of setting boundaries in how we process and discuss our work experiences, emphasizing the importance of protecting our emotional energy.

Join us as we discuss the continuous journey of understanding ourselves, our motivations, and the ever-evolving nature of personal growth.

In this episode, join your host Amanda Rocheleau in a heartfelt conversation with Tarky Lee, an Oakland, California-based artist, writer, and professional child care provider.

Together, we delve into the timeless tale that touched our hearts – Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree." This beloved story became a catalyst for both of us to reflect on our patterns of over-giving and inspired a journey towards self-compassion and personal growth.

TarkyLee shares her unique perspective by crafting her own version of the story, where love and hope become the seeds for new growth. Our discussion goes beyond the narrative, exploring the challenges and rewards of being caregivers, the importance of acknowledging and feeling our emotions, and the valuable life lessons we've gathered along the way.

This episode marks the beginning of a two-part interview, so be sure to check out part 2 for even more insights and reflections.

Thanks for join us on The Giving Tree Podcast as we unravel the threads of connection woven through storytelling and life experiences.

In this episode, I chat with Dan Maillet, an esteemed permanent teacher from the Ottawa area and a good friend of mine. Join us as we delve into a candid conversation about the profound challenges that teachers like Dan often face in their journey of nurturing young minds.

Teaching isn't merely a profession for Dan; it's a passion that fuels his drive to make a lasting impact. Dan opens up about the unique pressures that teachers encounter, from the ever-growing list of responsibilities to the desire to meet every student's individual needs. The discussion revolves around the all-too-familiar struggle of balancing personal sacrifices, managing guilt when the answer is "no," and juggling volunteer commitments while maintaining a sense of self.

Amidst the love they hold for their vocation, teachers can encounter an overwhelming wave of stress, guilt, and pressure that, if left unchecked, could lead to burnout. Dan and I discuss the importance of setting boundaries, avoiding the pitfall of over-commitment, and embracing the concept of self-care. One of the key takeaways from this conversation is the notion of adaptability. Teachers can harness resiliency by being open to innovative tools and teaching methods, providing a dynamic learning environment that evolves with the times. Dan advocates for seeking help and fostering connections with fellow educators as a means to combat the isolating feeling that often accompanies the teaching journey.

As the interview unfolds, Dan imparts a valuable piece of advice: maintaining perspective. Amidst the daily hustle and bustle, teachers must remember the bigger picture—the profound impact they make on students' lives. This perspective shift helps educators stay motivated and prevent getting bogged down in the day-to-day tasks.

If you are a helping professional in education or elsewhere, and feeling the creep of burnout, I invite you to go to my website for resources and information about services.

In this episode, Robyn and I talk about the various ways people can experience Secondary Traumatic Stress and Vicarious Trauma. She shares her experience of how, as a Human Rights Professional, she came to realize that after years of advocacy work and reading countless files pertaining to crimes against children, that she too was showing signs of Vicarious Trauma; a profound shift in one's perspective of the world.

In this episode, I interview Jessica Lemieux, a Registered Social Worker in Ontario and founder of Cultivation Therapy Services. We chat about familiarizing ourselves with messages from the body and the mindful self-care practices that we have learned and try our best to integrate into our daily lives. Jessica shares some lovely insights about her work and personal life and I...well...overshare about my PPPs. You'll just have to listen to figure out what that is! 

Jessica offers a variety of mental health services virtually and in person where she supports individuals and groups with mindfulness, meditation & body-based therapies. She is offering individual or group therapy sessions and therapeutic meditation sessions (in person & virtually), and in person nature based retreats on a beautifully forested property in Pembroke, Ontario.

Jennifer Hunnisett and Catherine Dwyer are good friends of mine and also work as clinical associates providing support to helping professionals with the psychological well-being. In this episode, we are chatting about compassion fatigue. While sharing about our personal experiences, we identify the nuances of it, the cultural and cognitive influences and finally some of the ways we have navigated our ways through it. 

In this episode, I continue to share my interview with Troy Lavigne, a Registered Massage Therapist, Reiki Teacher, Kinesio Taping Practitioner and founder of his practice, Sensory Approach to Manual Therapy.

In this episode, part 2 of our conversation, we carry on reflecting on the process of getting to know ourselves and accepting ourselves fully. We explore the ways that we fend off shame by embracing vulnerability and letting people in our lives see us for all that we are. Troy shares with us how he has learned to live and thrive with his ADHD and he tells us an awesome poop story from his travels in India that literally is the epitome of radical acceptance and embracing vulnerability.

In this episode, I chat with Troy Lavigne, a Registered Massage Therapist, Reiki Teacher, Kinesio Taping Practitioner and founder of his practice, Sensory Approach to Manual Therapy.

Troy and I cover a lot of ground in this conversation. So much so, that I had to split it up into two episodes.

In part 1, you'll hear Troy talk about his discovery for the sensory approach and how he helps people manage pain. We share our ideas about health, the impact of stress and different ways of looking at compassion fatigue. We end this episode with some thoughts on the importance of self-awareness and we continue that conversation in part 2 (so be sure to keep listening).  

In this episode, I interview Carole Ann Alloway; a retired Human Resources Manager, mother of four and grandmother of seven. Carole Ann became a full-time caregiver for her husband, Bill, who had ten difficult operations within a 7-year period. She has witnessed first-hand the gaps in the health care and home care systems and speaks at health conferences, hospitals, home care agencies to share her experiences while raising awareness of the importance of making the caregiver an integral part of the health care team. Carole Ann is currently partnering with an Ontario Health Team and has worked with The Change Foundation, Health Quality Ontario, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Ontario Caregiver Organization, Health Standards Organization and various hospitals and LHINs. She worked with The Change Foundation to transform her Caregiver Wish List into a video, so it can be used by other caregivers and health care agencies and she also speaks with University students enrolled in health care degrees on the importance of working with the patient and caregiver in an integrated system.

In this episode I interview Kelly Tabor, a Social Worker and Motivational Interviewing Trainer. Kelly is an experienced professional helper committed to the growth of individuals, teams, and organizations. She specializes in developing and facilitating Motivational Interviewing (MI) training for a wide variety of health care professionals and non-professional caregivers, helping them to discover how to become effective in conversations about change. 

During the interview, we chatted about the motivation for behavior change and Kelly emphasized how ambivalence is a normal and predictable part of the process. She shared with us the Spirit of MI and the PACE acronym - the framework for supporting an individual in fostering their own internal drive for change. We also talked about how helpers can protect their psychological well-being by framing their role as participants and coaches instead of problem solvers and change-makers. The spirit of MI communicates - I see you, I care, and I am working in a way not to tell you or advise you what to do, but rather walk beside you as you determine what makes most sense for you moving forward.

I hope you enjoy this conversation and take something away from it that helps you think about your own wellness journey.

In this episode I interview Lacey Kempinski, a fundraising specialist, an entrepreneur and mother of 2. 

I met Lacey at a fundraising related conference last year and we discovered that we had a lot in common; we both had ventured into entrepreneurship after becoming mothers in order to find a way to maintain our passion for our work, be fully present with our children and still maintain our own well-being while we tried to do both.

During the interview, we chatted about her journey in finding balance in her career and personal life, how she has been adapting during the pandemic and how she views self-care these days.