The “Invisible Work” of Therapy: Holding Space, Emotional Labor, and What to Do About It (2HR)
Whether in private practice, group settings, hospitals, or agencies, clinicians are trained to listen deeply, navigate emotional complexity, and foster human connection. Yet the labor required to sustain this work—what we call the “invisible work” of therapy—often goes unrecognized. This workshop explores those relational, emotional, and cognitive tasks that are essential to care but rarely measured or reimbursed. Drawing from Allison Pugh’s The Last Human Job, we will examine how connective labor operates across clinical contexts, how systemic demands like documentation and productivity tracking obscure its value, and how clinicians can name, protect, and advocate for this core part of the therapeutic process.
Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:
- Define emotional labor and connective labor in the context of therapeutic work, with reference to current sociological research.
- Identify how the invisible aspects of clinical labor (e.g., attunement, presence, holding space) are undervalued or unmeasured within institutional frameworks.
- Evaluate the impact of this undervaluation on therapist well-being, burnout, and professional identity.
- Apply strategies to advocate for structural change and create personal and collective practices that honor and sustain the emotional labor of therapy.
Social workers completing this course receive 2 asynchronous continuing education credits.
For other board approvals, this course qualifies for 2 continuing education training.
Course Instructor: Aseem Garg, LPCC-S, LMFT
Recording Date: 11/07/2025
Aseem Garg, LPCC-S, LMFT is a seasoned clinician, supervisor, and educator with over seven years of experience in the behavioral health field. As a licensed professional clinical counselor and marriage and family therapist, he specializes in trauma-informed care, adolescent mental health, dual diagnosis cases, and couples and sex therapy. His work spans direct clinical practice, program development, and leadership roles in both nonprofit and startup mental health settings.
