The

Therapist's
Second Act

Redesigning Your Career and Your Life with Intention

There is a moment that many therapists recognise.
On an ordinary Tuesday between sessions,
a quiet question arrives, unbidden:
Is this still what I want?

This book was written for that moment, and for everything that becomes possible on the other side of it.

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About the Book

A book for the therapist who has given generously and is ready for more.

You may simply have arrived at a moment that every long career eventually reaches, when the shape your professional life has taken no longer quite fits the person you have become.

The Therapist's Second Act is an honest, practical guide to one of the most significant transitions a therapist will make. Drawing on more than thirty years of clinical practice, supervision, and mentoring, Karen Saunders Hurley offers experienced therapists a companion for the crossroads.

Why depletion is a signal that something important is trying to get your attention

How the professional self can quietly absorb the whole self, and what becomes possible when you begin to reclaim what has been waiting

The permission problem, and why the permission that matters most is the one you give yourself

The many shapes a therapist's second act can take, from supervision and mentoring to writing, creative practice and the portfolio life

How to design a working life that is sustainable, creative and whole, and how to reduce a caseload with care for your clients

How a second act can make you a better therapist

A book about how a therapist's life can keep evolving.

Photo coming soon

Karen Saunders Hurley

MSW · RSW
RP · RMFT

About the Author

Karen Saunders Hurley is a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and mentor with over thirty years of experience in individual and group psychotherapy. She has spent her career accompanying people through some of the most significant transitions of their lives, and has spent the past decade turning that same quality of attention toward the professional lives of her fellow therapists.

In her early forties she signed up for her first oil painting class with no artistic background and no particular expectation, and discovered, over the years that followed, a creative identity she had not known was waiting. She is now a professional oil painter; one of her paintings, commissioned by the City of Mississauga, hangs in the City Hall of Kariya, Japan. She practises yoga and meditation, and has a deep love of home design and interior spaces.

She lives and practises in Mississauga, Ontario, and spends her summers in her home province of Newfoundland. She continues to see clients and supervise therapists, and she believes a second act can be the fullest expression of a life of meaning.

Programs

The book is the beginning.

A suite of online programs to accompany your second act, from the first wondering to the active redesign of a portfolio life.

Single Session · 3 Hours

The Second Act Discovery Workshop

Name what is happening, discover what you have accumulated, and sketch a first vision of your second act.

$197 CAD · Quarterly

Full Day · Online

The Second Act Intensive

A complete day moving from recognition and inventory through possibilities and design to committed next steps.

$397 CAD · Twice Yearly

Eight Weeks · Small Group

Designing Your Second Act

A structured, supported program for therapists ready to move from wondering to designing, alongside fellow travellers.

$897 CAD · Spring & Autumn

Six Months · Ongoing

The Second Act Mentoring Group

The most intimate offering: sessions every two weeks with Karen and a small group actively building their second acts.

$297 CAD/month · By Application

Half Day · Online

Writing Your Second Act

For therapists who sense they have a book in them. Find your subject, your voice, and write the first page.

$197 CAD · Twice Yearly

Programs launching alongside the book. Join the waitlist to be notified first.

Therapist's Second Act