Life coaching vs therapy for veterinarians: which do you actually need?

The dog was at this point held together with steroids, Blu tack and love mixed in with high levels of anxiety. Each step was excruciating slow, kinda falling forwards. I looked at my boss as soon as the elderly owners turned around; "why don't we recommend euthanasia? Surely there's not much more we can do for them?".

"This is the only thing they have left from their son who died in a motorbike accident. It feels to them that if we put him to sleep, they're letting their son go."

"Oh".

This was during my first year out of vet school, and nothing had prepared me for situations like this. Let's be clear: There's a LOT of things vet school doesn't prepare us for.

Apart from all the obvious such as long hours, being thrown into surgeries we're truly not prepared for, client complaints, hyper short consultation times etc, we also come out with no real idea of the effects of the crippling self doubt that will invade us. The constant nagging feeling of not having done enough, of not knowing enough, the what if's.

Not being able to live up to our own and the owner's expectations a lot of the time, largely due to financial constraints but also because we have a crazy perception of what is really expected and even possible in medicine. This leaves us steeped in imposter syndrome, truly believing everyone else are doing a much better job, and we're not really worthy of our position.

I don't believe any human can go through this profession without some sort of backing. Honestly, I think every vet (and vet nurse) should have access to mental and emotional support, fully understanding that it is a requirement to stay sane and content in this profession, and USE it, just like we understand that stretching and working out in some way is essential to bodily health.

Now, what's the best way to be supported as a veterinary professional? You need someone who fully understands what you're going through, and the challenges the profession represents. Like my example above, with the dog being the representation of their son. Or like the dog I put down, the day after the owner lost their child to cancer. No one out of the profession truly understands this, which is why having someone who's been or still are in the trenches can get what you mean.

Shouldn't we just see a therapist, though? Yes and... Some of my clients have been to therapy before they came to me, and have felt the lack of understanding of the profession. Some have been irritated by the therapist asking them questions to understand them better, like "what do you mean when you say GDV?", which puts the vet back into the "professional mode", having to explain stuff, thus losing the ability to be the "client", and also that ability to be vulnerable and truly open up.

If you are really struggling with your mental health, with severe anxiety and/or depression, of course you should see a mental health professional, and drugs may be a great option to support you.

But if you what you're mostly experiencing is:

- Feeling stuck and trapped in the profession
- An inability to set boundaries and thus taking on too much work plus everyone else's problems
- A crippling anxiety, fuelled by self doubt, believing there's something wrong with you and that you can never do enough, comparing yourself to your peers
- Lack of motivation, fantasising about ways to leave the profession, no longer so excited about learning new things
- Exhaustion and decision fatigue

Then life coaching, with a coach who is also a veterinary professional, is a great option for you, because we can address every pain point in an exact and succinct way, without you having to explain yourself. We can hone in on specific examples in real time of what's happening to you, with no judgement, and a full understanding of where you're coming from, and what environment you're in.

Through life coaching, you'll feel better straight away because you'll feel supported on the go, while working on finding and undoing the patterns where you're making things worse for yourself. You'll be able to switch off the fight and flight response, and make decisions from a calm and neutral place. You'll learn how to overcome that self doubt, and how to manage the anxiety so you can enjoy your time in and out of the clinic (and sleep!).

Most veterinary life coaches, like myself, offer a free session or consult so you can try it out and see how it feels for you, and I cannot recommend it enough! I would definitely never have come back to the veterinary profession in any way or form without it, never mind becoming a thriving ER vet!

In your corner,

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Ready to fall back in love with Vet Med?

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• Book a Free 50-Minute Coaching Session — Let's chat about where you are and where you want to be. Book here
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