Creative Trauma Recovery / Burnout, EMDR Therapy for CPTSD, IFS, Christian Counseling, Art Therapy, First Responders, Codependency

What's This Podcast
About?

Have you ever looked back and realized somewhere in your life you became the strong one, the helper, the fixer, the one everyone depended on? Do you love helping people, but sometimes feel like the work you once cared about is leaving you exhausted, overwhelmed, or disconnected from yourself? Do you still believe God is with you, but find yourself longing for peace, joy, and a deeper sense of closeness with Him again? If those questions stir something in you, there may be a reason that started long before you started feeling that exhaustion. There is often a story beneath becoming the helper; a story of learning early to connect safety and love with being useful and needed. Over time, that way of living can become the way we see our identity and purpose. For many of us, helping did not begin as a calling. It began as a need. It may have first been our way of surviving. Sometimes our helping hearts are shaped long before we ever choose a helping profession. Maybe you grew up in chaos or pain and learned to read the room. You realized that if you were good, helpful, and didn’t ask for much, things felt somehow safer, and maybe you even felt loved or needed. As you grew up, your heart still noticed pain. You learned to sense when someone was hurting. You learned how to stay calm in a crisis. You learned how to take care of people. So of course, as you got older and chose your career, you became a helper, the person everyone could depend on when life was falling apart. You became a fixer. Someone who helps people when they need support physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. Maybe you became a therapist, a nurse, a first responder, a front-line crisis worker, a school counsellor, a social worker, or a pastor. You knew you wanted to help people who were in pain, so you packed up your own pain and carried it into your new career. But now the work you once loved is starting to feel heavy. Maybe you find yourself thinking, “I love my job, but I don't know how much longer I can do this.” You are tired, and not just tired. You are “if I slept for a week, I’d still be tired” kind of tired. You may feel stuck and overwhelmed, like your body is trying to say, “I can’t keep doing this.” Even simple things feel hard. You can’t even make yourself do the things you used to enjoy. And now the people closest to you are feeling it too. They see a difference in you. Maybe the deepest ache of all is missing the feeling of being close to God. You still believe He’s there. You still pray. Occasionally, you call out to Him in desperation, but His voice feels distant. Maybe you have already hit rock bottom and left your career, but you still haven’t found the peace you were looking for. Friend, if any of that sounds familiar, I am so glad you are here. Welcome to Creative Trauma Healing. I’m Shelley Mountain-Collette, a Christian trauma therapist, strategic intervention coach, educator, wife, girl mom, lifelong learner, and fellow traveler on this healing journey. My passion for trauma healing is not just professional. It is deeply personal. I joined this world a few years after both of my parents experienced traumatic losses as teenagers. My parents are awesome people who taught me grit and how to push through pain, but we didn’t really know how to heal from the fear of loss. I know what it is like to live with fear in your body, to long for peace, and to love God while still feeling overwhelmed and far from Him, and even far from yourself. I also know what it is like to pack up your boxes of pain and move on from a career you love because you can no longer hold the heaviness. I have lived through burnout, compassion fatigue, and trauma. That is why I created this podcast: to help professionals, trauma survivors, wounded healers, and anyone who is tired of merely surviving and ready to begin healing. My heart is to help you find yourself again, to

Podcast Copyright

Copyright 2026 All rights reserved.