Counselor Feature: Victoria Rodriguez’s Top 6 Podcasts on Health Anxiety and Medical Trauma
Expert podcast resources for clients and clinicians
Health Issues and Your Mental Health
If you have health issues, it can impact every part of your life. Maybe you’ve spent years in and out clinics and hospitals treating a chronic illness, or maybe you’re recovering after a medical crisis or emergency. Maybe you’re exhausted from trying to even FIND a definitive diagnosis, being sent to this specialist and that specialist, spending hours online pouring over potential answers. You might even be facing a terminal illness, feeling scared, alone, or numb.
No matter your situation, managing acute medical issues can be exhausting. You’ve used up all of your spoons on your body’s needs, and you find you have little energy left to pour into other areas of your life. You find yourself missing out on moments with your family or worrying about your finances having to take so many days off of work.
Help for the Helpers: Healthcare Professionals and Burnout
If you’re a healthcare professional, such as a physician, nurse, or therapist, you are probably intimately familiar with the compassion fatigue and professional burnout that can occur when working with patients or clients who have acute health issues. Perhaps you find yourself experiencing symptoms of “secondary medical trauma” such as an intense dread about work or even panic attacks.
Image: Healthcare professionals like physicians, nurses, therapists, and others can experience secondary medical burnout.
Expert Resources for Anxiety and Trauma
Victoria Rodriguez, LPC, CCTP, NCC, is a licensed counselor with Revive Counseling and Consulting and specializes in supporting teens and adults with major medical needs throughout Louisiana. This post will review her top 7 podcast guest appearances where she shares more about:
Signs and symptoms of health anxiety and medical trauma
Impacts of chronic illness on mental health
Burnout prevention for healthcare professionals
Rethinking work-life balance
Interventions for clients with acute medical needs
Benefits of telehealth for clients and therapists with health issues
Keep reading for a definitive list of Victoria’s top guest appearances
American Girls
Care and Keeping of You: In Sickness and in Health
“The time has come to close out our coverage of Marie-Grace and Cécile. For this occasion, we dreamed up a special Care and Keeping of You episode that would start with the yellow fever epidemic of their day…straight through to the COVID-19 pandemic of ours. Since we couldn’t book Dr. Tad via his chalkboard, we had to look elsewhere. Enter Victoria Rodriguez, a Felicity/Kit fan and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional from Louisiana. Victoria is an expert on anxiety who studies intergenerational medical trauma. During this discussion, Victoria provides a professional opinion on some of the more complicated plot points in these books—such as Armand’s recovery and the discovery of baby Phillip. Victoria also shares her recent pop culture obsessions, from Jane Austen/Bridgerton to Gilded Age dramas and video games. Join us for one more trip back to 1853, and learn how ghosts got Victoria out of math class.”
2. Student Counselor Podcast
Ep 9 - Conversation with Victoria Rodriguez, LPC and PhD Student
In this episode, Victoria Rodriguez speaks with Vitor de Souza, host of the Student Counselor Podcast about community mental health, telehealth, burnout, money, and more.
3. Supportive SuperVision Podcast
Episode 17: In-Home Counseling with Victoria Rodriguez, PLPC, NCC
“This episode is a deep dive into all the nuances of working in clients' homes before and during COVID-19, the different ethical and cultural considerations involved, and what should be involved in clinical supervision for those working in these roles. I share some of my horror stories and interesting experiences, and Victoria shares her more empowering experiences. Together, we give a good example of all the different experiences in-home providers can have. This is an area almost all of us will work in at some point in our careers, so this episode is a MUST!”
4. Mental Status
MS6: Victoria Rodriguez, PLCP, asks: "Who is benefiting from my discomfort?"
“In this episode, Meg talks with Victoria Rodriguez, PLCP, about burnout among those who work in the community and in the homes of the clients they serve, and she asks a the super important question of: "who benefits from my guilt and discomfort?"
5. All Things Private Practice Podcast
Episode 14: Scared To Leave Your CMH Job? ME TOO!! [featuring Victoria Rodriguez]
“Scared about leaving your Community Mental Health Job? I was too! I think we all are to some degree. It makes sense that when we feel comfortable and "secure," we struggle to embrace the fear of the unknown no matter how badly we want to. Community Mental Health definitely has a role to play but unfortunately, the system is broken, which means you end up struggling with: Resources, $$, time, and BURN OUT! In this episode, I talk with Victoria Rodriguez, a Ph.D. student at the University of New Orleans and owner of "My Car Is My Office," about the problems with Community Mental Health (CMH), but more importantly, how clients and therapists both suffer because of the systemic injustice and lack of resources.”
6. The Flourishing Therapreneur
S2E2: Navigating community mental health and creating systems to prevent burnout with Victoria Rodriguez, PLPC and NCC
“This episode is for you if you are: Currently working in community mental health, Considering working in community mental health, Needing resources, encouragement and an honest conversation about how to prevent burnout in CMH and create structure that serves you as a human AND therapist, If you struggle with ruminating on client sessions and how you transition into your life post session, If you are wanting to actively create your own systems of support — and need ideas on where to begin, An honest conversation around living through natural disasters, tragedies and pandemics while concurrently supporting clients also navigating those same experiences, and a deeper dive on consciously creating new patterns and systems to sustain yourself from jumping from CMH and agency life to private practice.”
Want more resources or support?
In addition to listening to these podcasts and other resources, personalized online therapy can help you apply these tips in your life. With your therapist, you might:
Examine potential causes and triggers to your health anxiety
Replace unhelpful or anxious thoughts about your health with confidence and self-compassion
Learn about tools you can use before and during your medical appointments for relaxation
Explore how this anxiety shows up in your body and affects your physical health
Manage your anxiety so that you are able to take control of your health
Practice advocating for your medical needs in a way that feels authentic to who you are
Find out if online therapy is right for you
Contact us today at 985-441-7550 or email Victoria at victoria@revivepractice.com to schedule your free 15 minute consultation to explore what relief from anxiety and trauma might look like for you.
