Healing the Healers: A Conversation with Helen MalinowskiHealing the Healers: A Conversation with Helen Malinowski
Addict II Athlete Podcast
Coach Blu Robinson and therapist Helen Malinowski talk about burnout, somatic therapy, and what it takes for helpers to care for themselves as much as they care for others. Their conversation highlights rest, boundaries, supervision, and realistic self-care as essential parts of sustainable recovery work.
54:17•11 Mar 2026
Who Heals the Healers? Somatic Care and Boundaries for Burnt-Out Clinicians
Episode Overview
- Burnout often goes unrecognised by helpers themselves until someone names it, and it doesn’t resolve just by changing jobs if old patterns come along too.
- Somatic practices that tune into the nervous system can help both clients and clinicians process trauma, grief, and stress stored in the body.
- Rest, small daily grounding routines, and basic needs like food and water are non-negotiable if helpers want sustainable careers.
- Clear boundaries and the ability to say “no” are essential skills, tied to self-worth and the courage to risk disappointing others.
- Robust supervision, peer support, and valuing your time and fees help keep professionals in the field and ultimately improve client care.
“Who heals the healer then? Because I'm supposed to be healing all of you. Who's qualified enough to heal me?”
What can we learn from those who have battled burnout while trying to help others heal? This conversation between Coach Blu Robinson and therapist-entrepreneur Helen Malinowski speaks directly to anyone who’s worn the “helper” badge until it almost broke them. Helen shares how leaving a demanding clinical director role due to exhaustion didn’t magically fix anything, because, as she jokes, she “brought herself along” into private practice.
Her turning point came when a doctor finally named what she’d been denying: burnout. From there, she began building a seven-figure group practice and a children’s centre, but this time grounded in nervous-system awareness rather than sheer hustle. A big focus is somatic therapy. Helen explains it in simple terms: paying attention to what your body and nervous system are trying to say, for both clients and clinicians.
She talks about using the same tools she teaches her trauma and addiction clients on herself to avoid vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue.
You’ll hear them wrestle with the heavy stuff—grief when clients relapse or die, the illusion that helpers should be “strong enough,” and that haunting question: “Who heals the healer then?” They also get practical: tiny, realistic self-care habits between sessions, saying “no” without drowning in guilt, building real supervision and peer support, and remembering that your fees should reflect your value, not your doubts. Helen’s message is clear: the people you serve benefit when you’re rested, boundaried, and present.
If you’re a therapist, coach, parent, or anyone who’s always “holding space” for others, this conversation might be the nudge you need to finally ask yourself: how am *I* really doing—and what am I prepared to change?
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