Lilypad Counseling and Wellness Center
Ivana Ayala-Esslinger, Ed. S, LMHC
Integrative Mental Health Counselor and Akashic Channel
Therapy for Therapists and Healers experiencing burnout, grief and emotional exhaustion. Licensed to practice therapy in the Stuart, FL, Martin County, Palm Beach County and across the State of Florida
I help therapist and healers go from feeling soul tired to feeling safe, supported and connected to self while navigating grief, compassion fatigue and burnout.
A space where you can finally put the weight down — process your grief, release the pressure, and reconnect with yourself.
Therapy for therapists and healers who are exhausted from holding everyone else together.
You spend your days helping others heal — in sessions, appointments, classrooms, treatment rooms, and hospital halls.
But somewhere along the way, you stopped having a place to put your own pain.
Helping therapists and healers feel again — in a space where you can cry, vent, and never need to apologize for being “too much.”
This is therapy for therapists experiencing burnout and emotional exhaustion — a space that honors both your role and your rawness. (Finally!!!)
Many therapists, nurses, yoga teachers, and healers experience compassion fatigue — the quiet emotional exhaustion that comes from holding space for others day after day.
You’re allowed to feel this way.
You’re allowed to need help too.
You’re allowed to grieve in a way that honors your spirituality, your ancestry, your culture — and your full humanity.
Are you ready to exhale?
Book your free consultation
When you're the one who holds space for others, it can be hard to imagine letting someone hold space for you.
Many helpers worry they should be able to handle their own pain — that needing support somehow means they’re failing at the work they love.
But here, you don’t have to be the strong one.
You don’t have to be the guide, the healer, or the one with the answers.
You get to be supported too.
Contact me for your free consultation
Does any of this sound familiar?
You finish your last session of the day…
and instead of feeling relief, you feel completely drained.
You’re still carrying pieces of everyone’s stories in your body—
a quiet form of therapist burnout that builds over time.
You walk in the door after holding space all day — and still, everyone needs something from you.
The dishes are stacked. The kids are melting down. The pressure to keep everything running never stops.
You daydream about disappearing. Just for a day. Just to breathe.
You feel ashamed for needing rest.
You wonder:
“What’s wrong with me? Shouldn’t I know how to handle this?”
You feel everything — grief, anger, resentment, soul-deep fatigue — and yet you still show up smiling.
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Rest feels like betrayal. (I’ll sleep when I’m dead.)
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Grief feels like failure. (I should be grateful.)
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Slowing down feels dangerous. (What would I even do with myself?)
And yet…
There’s a part of you that longs to melt.
To soften without breaking.
To be held, without needing to earn it.
To crawl into bed with a weighted blanket, ice cream, Netflix (or a book)… and feel completely unbothered.
You want space.
You want safety.
You want support.
You want to come back to your body, your spirit, your Self — without giving up the work you love.
This isn’t about losing yourself or stepping away from your work.
It’s about learning how to show up without losing yourself in the process.
Let’s begin
Imagine feeling permission to fall apart — and still be seen as whole.
Hi, I’m Ivana.
I help therapists, and healers who are carrying too much find space to rest, feel, grieve, and reconnect to their truth — without judgment. This weight often shows up as compassion fatigue and therapist burnout, something many in helping professions silently experience.
You are not alone.
In our work together, you don’t need to be calm, grateful, or “put together.”
You can show up messy, resentful, exhausted, and over it — and still be welcomed with warmth and reverence.
(If you’re at the WTF moment? That’s welcome too.)
In our sessions, we slow things down.
Instead of performing or analyzing yourself, you get space to actually feel what you’ve been carrying.
Together we gently untangle the grief, pressure, and emotional weight that’s been building for years.
I weave together clinical and spiritual tools with mind/body awareness practices to create a space where your body and soul can finally exhale.
We might use:
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mind-body practices like breathwork, tapping, and guided imagery
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reflective practices like writing and stillness
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therapeutic approaches such as CBT, Internal Family Systems, and A-TIP
Always led by you and what you need that day.
For some clients, burnout is not just emotional — it’s tied to deeper patterns, beliefs, or inherited ways of carrying responsibility.
If this resonates, we can explore spiritual insight practices such as Akashic Records work.
You’ve spent years helping other people process their pain.
But when it comes to your own grief, exhaustion, or resentment… it’s harder to find a place where you can truly let go.
In our work together, you don’t have to be the therapist in the room.
You get to be human.
(Seriously — you don’t have to worry about another soul in here.)
Future Life Vision
You take a deep breath… and feel your body soften.
You sip coffee in the sun… and don’t feel guilty.
You cry… and don’t apologize.
You show up to work… with steadiness, not burnout.
You feel your intuition again.
You move through your day with presence — not panic.
What if peace didn’t mean giving everything up… just giving yourself back to you?
Maybe you’ve tried therapy before.
Maybe it felt too clinical. Too cold. Too focused on "functioning.”
Or maybe… you didn’t feel safe enough to really let go.
You worried a therapist might see your mess and question your competence.
Maybe it helped a little… but deep down, you know there’s more:
More joy. More peace. More of you, ready to break through the pain and darkness.
Here’s what I want you to know:
You are not broken.
You are not weak.
You are not “too much.”
You are a human being in pain — and you deserve care.
Just like anyone else. (Hell yeah!)
This space is different because:
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I know the weight of your role
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I know the cost of always being the one who holds it together
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And yes… I’ve lived it too
I also know how to help you begin again — gently, honestly, and with reverence for all that you are. Even if you’ve forgotten that about yourself.
Let’s talk — book a free consultation
While I don’t share client reviews for privacy, people I’ve worked with often say:
“I accept who I am — and the amazing person I am.”
“I can be responsible, successful, and still meet my needs.”
“I’m creating a life I actually want.”
“I advocate for myself now. I’m no longer afraid.”
“I didn’t realize how much was holding me back.”
“My sleep is better, I’m less reactive, I’m finally seeing things shift.”
Let’s find your exhale
I specialize in supporting therapists, healers, and people in caregiving professions who spend their days supporting others navigating compassion fatigue, burnout and grief.
You’re allowed to stop performing.
You’re allowed to bring your confusion, your contradictions, your chaos.
You’re allowed to say: “I can’t keep doing this.”
You’re allowed to rest.
And you don’t have to do it alone.
Little by little, we’ll uncover:
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The wisdom in your pain
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The strength in your sorrow
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The power in your sensitivity
We’ll call on what you know.
We’ll call on your truth.
Book your free consultation
You might be wondering…
“What if I fall apart?”
We move gently, at your pace. If you fall apart, I’ll be with you. When you gather yourself again, I’ll still be there.
“I should be able to handle this myself.”
You’ve handled so much. But even healers need healing.
(“We can only meet others as deeply as we’ve met ourselves.” – Matt Kahn)
“I don’t have the time or energy for this.”
This is the space where you get time and energy back. This is where your nervous system can finally rest.
Let’s talk — book your free consultation
This is for you if:
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You’re a therapist, healer, or helper navigating grief, loss, or soul-level exhaustion
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You’re experiencing therapist burnout or compassion fatigue and don’t have a space to process it
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You want a space to be fully human — messy, raw, real
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You’re open to rest, reconnection, and spiritual depth (even if it’s scary)
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You’re ready to feel like yourself again — maybe for the first time in years
This might not be for you if:
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You’re looking for productivity coaching or performance therapy
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You’re not ready to explore the emotional, cultural or spiritual roots of your pain
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You want a quick fix or tightly structured approach
Sound like a match?
Imagine six months from now…
Still exhausted.
Still overstimulated.
Still holding your breath, hoping something shifts.
Still asking, “Why am I still feeling this way?”
Or…
You could feel rested.
Rooted with a sense of knowing that all is as it should be and it is safe to relax.
Reconnected to your why, to your life and to yourself.
You could remember what it feels like… to just be. Be at peace, be still, be content, be joyful, be in the moment.
Your future self will thank you
You don’t have to hold it all together anymore.
This is your space to feel, fall apart, be witnessed, and rebuild — not into someone new, but back into yourself. The version of you that got pushed aside while you became what everyone else needed.
Through our work together, you’ll gain:
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A safe space to grieve, rage, and rest
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Tools to calm your body and nervous system
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Spiritual, and emotional support that meets your depth
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Permission to just be
You’ve done enough for everyone else.
Now it’s time for you
FAQ's
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a free consultation entail?
A free consultation is a brief discussion with me about your needs and to answer any questions you may have about me and my work. this typically takes between 15 and 30 minutes. This is not a therapy session. It is an opportunity for us to see if we are a good fit for each other both in personality and in my ability to support your concerns. In order to meet your needs I may refer you elsewhere.
Do you take insurance?
I take minimal insurance. In order to meet the full needs of my clients, not be restricted by insurance and utilize modalities that do not qualify for reimbursement of insurance, out of pocket paying or private pay is preferred.
How long does therapy last?
One size does not fit all, however research has suggested that 15 sessions is the amount typical for clients to experience a reduction in the severity and frequency of their symptoms and show improvement in functioning.
How do I know what service to utilize?
As I said, one size does not fit all. During consult and/or at intial intake, we would discuss your needs, your goals, your functioning, your symptoms and what you feel ready to focus on and if you are ready to invest the time and energy into your goals at this time.
