About this episode
In this episode of The Art of Imperfect Adulting, Amy Stone speaks with Carah Elizabeth about navigating a major career transformation, overcoming professional burnout, and healing from the fear-based patterns that once shaped her life and work. Carah shares candidly about her journey from rigorous clinical training and private practice ownership to embracing the world of coaching and holistic healing, offering wisdom for anyone considering a bold change in their own professional path.About Carah Elizabeth:Carah Elizabeth is a clinically trained psychotherapist turned trauma-informed coach, empowering high-achieving women to break free from the limitations of generational patterns and lead their lives with embodied confidence, self-trust, and soul-powered abundance.With over 20 years of experience in the mental health field, Carah blends her expertise in somatic healing, nervous system regulation, and energy work to guide women through a deeply transformative journey of reconnecting with their bodies, healing past trauma, and stepping into their true potential.Main Topics Covered:Carah’s early inspiration to become a therapist and her decade-long path through higher education and licensingThe emotional and financial realities of working in traditional therapy, including burnout, fear of the licensing board, and insurance hurdlesHow the COVID-19 pandemic and personal transformative experiences inspired Carah to challenge limiting beliefs and leave her licensure behindThe shift in mindset from “there’s only one path” to embracing modern, online, and holistic approaches to healingNavigating the loneliness and community pushback that can come with a major career changeThe emerging role of somatic and energy work in mental health—and how therapists and coaches alike are blending modalitiesInsights into embodiment, breaking patterns, nervous system healing, and living a soul-powered lifeQuote from the Episode: “I don’t lose my credibility because I don’t pay $500 every year for a piece of paper… My license was—I don’t lose my credibility. I don’t lose my education. I don’t lose who I am and what I do.”—Carah ElizabethTimestamps:[00:00:05] Welcome and guest introduction: Carah’s home, grounding rituals, and early dreams[00:01:23] Years of training and the backstory of wanting to become a therapist[00:04:14] Working in the mental health field, licensing hurdles, and double supervised hours[00:06:15] Carah’s experience as a therapist, joys and challenges[00:07:42] The initial shock and mindset shift around leaving therapy[00:09:15] Fear-driven patterns: family, career, and licensing board anxieties[00:11:24] The 2020 pandemic, board complaints, and a pivotal breaking point[00:15:26] The power of licensure boards and the limitations of traditional mental health systems[00:18
