By Szilvia Veber
Therapists are trained to hold space — to listen with presence, to show up calmly, to stay grounded no matter what we’re navigating internally. But there’s a reality many don’t speak about: what it’s like to be a female therapist moving through a menstrual cycle while carrying the emotional weight of others.
Some days, we feel more attuned, connected, and intuitive. Our empathy flows with ease, and we’re able to sit in difficult emotions with our clients without flinching. Other days, the physical discomfort, the emotional sensitivity, or the sheer hormonal overwhelm makes it harder to feel like our strongest, most regulated selves.
And yet, we still show up — because that’s what we do. We honour our clients. We hold our standards. But underneath that steady exterior might be someone who’s fighting exhaustion, managing cramps, or feeling more emotionally raw than usual.
There’s also the pressure. The quiet expectation to always be ‘on,’ always composed, always available. As if the very real, cyclical nature of being in a female body should be hidden, managed, or ignored in service of professionalism. But the truth is: we’re human too. Being a therapist doesn’t mean we’re immune to the monthly ebb and flow of emotion, energy, or clarity.
I’ve had sessions where I’ve felt deeply connected and others where I’ve needed to breathe through my own tears between appointments. I’ve learned to be kinder to myself in those moments — to not judge my inner world but to honour it. I’ve also come to understand that self-care in this work isn’t a luxury. It’s part of our ethics.
Sometimes that looks like giving myself permission to slow down, adjust my schedule, or carry a heat pack under my jumper. Other times it’s simply the awareness that I might need more gentleness and less pressure to be perfect. And always, it’s a reminder that we can do meaningful, loving work even while feeling tender.
Talking about periods in the therapy world shouldn’t feel taboo. The more we acknowledge the reality of working with a cycle, the more we make space for authenticity — not just for our clients, but for ourselves too.
We are not machines. We are cyclical, intuitive, layered beings. And when we honour that, we create a model of compassion and truth that speaks louder than any textbook ever could.