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.
Syllabus:
Introduction
- Overview of objectives and session structure
- Defining “invisible work” in therapy
- Inspiration from The Last Human Job by Allison Pugh
Objective #1: Defining the Invisible Work
- Emotional, connective, and cognitive labor in clinical settings
- Historical roots — Hochschild, Tronto, Pugh
- Examples of invisible labor: holding space, managing countertransference, relational repair
Objective #2: Professional Expectations vs. Hidden Costs
- The paradox of professionalism
- Burnout, compassion fatigue, and moral injury
- How systems erase or undervalue relational work
Objective #3: Making the Invisible Visible
- Case example: “Regina at the Agency”
- Group reflection on invisible labor in daily practice
- Therapist identity, worth, and moral tension
Objective #4: Reclaiming Language
- Reframing clinical language:
- “Billable” → relational impact
- “Non-productive time” → reflective integration
- “Soft skills” → core competencies
- Reference to Words Were Originally Magic (Steve de Shazer)
Objective #5: Strategies for Sustainability
- Personal: Micro-rituals for decompression, emotional residue check-ins, recovery minutes, naming labor in supervision
- Collective: Peer consultation with emotional processing, co-regulation rituals (e.g., Two Roses and a Thorn), collaborative storytelling
- Structural: Add relational metrics to reviews, advocate for reflective supervision, link clinician well-being to outcomes
Objective #6: Integration & Reflection
- Group brainstorm: redefining productivity
- Integrating the learning — personal, collective, structural levels
- Closing reflections:
- “The invisible can become visible when named.
- “Change starts with language and shared recognition.”
- “Every act of presence is advocacy.”
Social workers completing this course receive 2 General Skill Building asynchronous continuing education credits.
For other board approvals, this course qualifies for 2 General Skill Building continuing education training.
Instructor: Aseem Garg, LPCC-S, LMFT
Recording Date: November 7, 2025
CEUS On-Demand, LLC, provider #2274, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 08/7/2026 - 08/6/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 2hrs General continuing education credits.
CEUs On-Demand, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7091. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CEUs On-Demand, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
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Request for Special Accommodations: Learners can request special accommodations by contacting the administrative team at admin@ceus-ondemand.com