"The Realm of Social Work" Interview with Catherine Moore, MSW, BSW, LCSW"The Realm of Social Work" Interview with Catherine Moore, MSW, BSW, LCSW
Behavioral Health Integration
Jacob Minnig talks with social worker Catherine Moore about how early life trauma led her into social work, and how burnout and toxic workplaces affect helping professionals. They also discuss supervision, fair pay and the tools Catherine is building to better support future therapists.
59:03•8 Oct 2022
Burnout, Boundaries and Better Workplaces with Social Worker Catherine Moore
Episode Overview
- Burnout can build slowly and may show up as losing interest, doing the bare minimum and feeling overwhelmed by even simple invitations to rest.
- Toxic workplaces often involve unsafe leadership, shaming staff for asking for help and workloads that cannot realistically be completed in normal hours.
- Therapists and social workers need to know their own limits, set boundaries around caseloads and be willing to say no, even when employers push for more.
- Access to fair supervision, clear expectations and practical training after graduation is crucial for new clinicians to stay in the field long term.
- Mental health professionals have significant debt and responsibilities, and asking for fair pay and better conditions is both valid and necessary.
“Burnout is not comfortable. It’s the opposite.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This conversation between host Jacob Minnig and social worker Catherine Moore offers a candid look at what it really feels like to work in mental health and social work, especially when burnout and toxic workplaces start creeping in.
Catherine, a Southern California-based LCSW and founder of the RISE Directory, traces her path into social work through two huge childhood events: a kind social worker who listened during a custody battle, and losing her home in a wildfire. Those experiences, plus the generosity of strangers, pushed her towards a career helping people in their worst moments. The episode spends serious time on burnout, compassion fatigue and workload expectations in mental health settings.
Catherine shares how burnout “creeps up on you”, describing the moment she realised something was wrong when an invite to watch a film triggered tears instead of relief: “Burnout is not comfortable. It’s the opposite.” She and Jacob swap stories about overwork, unrealistic caseloads, financial pressures and the emotional toll of holding other people’s trauma day after day.
They also break down what makes a workplace toxic: unsafe leadership, shaming staff for setting boundaries, excessive workloads presented as ‘teamwork’, and being told “this is just how the field is”. Catherine pushes back hard against that narrative, arguing that future therapists and social workers need better preparation, better supervision and better conditions if they’re going to stay in the field.
Catherine also talks about her podcast, Social Workers, Rise, and the RISE Directory, created to connect social workers with clinical supervisors and ongoing training. It’s aimed at students, new grads and clinicians who want to keep helping others without sacrificing their own wellbeing. If you’re in recovery, training as a helper, or just wondering why your therapist looks exhausted, this episode might get you asking some useful questions about support, boundaries and fair pay in mental health care.
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