Episode #732: How To Market When The World Is On Fire

Summary

Abundant Practice Podcast – Episode #732: How To Market When The World Is On Fire

Host: Allison Puryear (Host 2)
Guest: Kim Wheeler Poivian
Date: February 14, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Allison Puryear and guest Kim Wheeler Poivian discuss a prevalent dilemma for therapists: how to ethically and effectively market private practices during times of widespread crisis and uncertainty – when, as Allison puts it, "the world is on fire." They tackle questions of feeling out of touch, concerns about being seen as selfish, and strategies for genuine, service-oriented marketing amidst political, social, and environmental chaos. The conversation centers on reframing marketing as an act of service and explores how therapists can offer essential support to clients—even (and especially) during tumultuous times.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Dilemma: Is Marketing Ethical When the World Is in Crisis?

• Listener Question: “It feels weird when the world feels like it's constantly on fire… Posting about my availability or my services can feel tone deaf or even unethical. Is it actually ethical to market myself in times like this or should I be pulling back?”
• Kim’s Perspective (02:06): Kim compares current global tensions to 2020, noting that people have always needed therapy, and many crises have been ongoing for various populations.
  • Quote: “A lot of these things were happening before… But those people that you still work with still need therapy. They still need support, they still need to go through the day to day.” (03:34)

Marketing as Service, Not Self-Promotion

• Reframing the Role of Marketing:

  • Marketing isn’t simply about announcing availability; it's about letting people know support is out there.
  • Therapists are a “beacon” during times of crisis by maintaining visibility and accessibility.
  • Quote (Host 2): “What they do care about is like, how are you helping your clients navigate the fact that the world is on fire? So if you want to share some content… share what's working.” (06:40)

• Impact Beyond the Individual Session:

  • Kim emphasizes that, while therapy can’t fix systemic issues, providing a safe space for processing and validation is crucial.
  • Quote: “When we do therapy, we're working on a micro level… therapy doesn't change your life, but it does change how you navigate your life.” (04:27)

Addressing Ethical and Emotional Concerns

• Feeling “Sleazy” About Marketing (06:59):

  • Kim normalizes feelings of discomfort around self-promotion, especially amid crises.
  • She reframes content creation as an act of service—offering something helpful even if someone does not become a client.
  • Quote: “At least they found something helpful and they could take something away from it… There are people out here who do actually care.” (07:52)

• Balance Between Acknowledging Reality and Providing Hope:

  • Recognize and validate harsh realities without using them to promote your practice or ignoring them altogether.
  • Clients need to feel therapists can handle the world’s chaos, offering stability and hope.
  • Quote (Host 2): “If I feel like that I don't want to go to the therapist who also can't manage their own feelings around it.” (09:16)

The Ongoing Need for Therapy

• Persistent Personal Challenges: Major events do not eclipse ongoing struggles with mental health, trauma, relationships, or loss.

  • Quote (Kim): “There’s still people who have eating disorders… going through a divorce… struggling with self-harm… Just because this particular thing happens… doesn’t mean you’re not still struggling.” (09:28)

• Therapy as Resistance and Resilience:

  • Marketing sustained support is framed not as indifference, but as a form of resistance—refusing to “float along” and instead actively supporting lives and businesses.
  • Quote: “Just knowing that people are still living and doing their lives and they're running their businesses, that in itself is… a form of resistance.” (10:46)

Practical Marketing Advice

• Authenticity Over Self-Promotion:
  • Share useful coping strategies and relatable experiences—not just availability.
  • Engage in community spaces with honesty about capacity and support.
  • Acknowledge that giving “something back” can be enough; marketing is less about filling your caseload and more about making a difference.
• Importance of Visibility:
  • Some therapists are burnt out and stepping back, so it’s especially valuable and generous to publicly state you are available to help.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Kim Wheeler Poivian:

  • “When you work in a really flawed system that you know is likely working against you… it can feel extremely helpless. But what is really validating is to have a therapist who acknowledges it.” (04:48)
  • “In a world where you have to always go out and be okay, you have an hour that it's okay to not be okay.” (05:22)

• Host (Allison):

  • “No matter what's going on in the world, marketing is an act of service.” (10:41)
  • “If you want to share some content… then share what's working.” (06:40)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:31–02:00: Introduction of today's question—ethical marketing during crisis.
• 02:06–04:27: Kim reflects on historical and ongoing need for therapy regardless of world events.
• 04:27–06:00: Impact of therapists’ work at the individual (micro) level.
• 06:00–07:50: Navigating feelings of guilt or sleaziness in marketing.
• 07:50–09:28: The ongoing challenges clients face; importance of therapist presence and acknowledgment.
• 09:28–10:46: Therapy as resilience and resistance; maintaining life and business as an act of defiance.
• 10:46–11:41: Wrap-up—affirming marketing as service and next steps for listeners.

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Actionable Takeaways

• Embrace visibility as a form of support—clients need to know you’re here.
• Share resources and insights rather than just availability.
• Acknowledge the current context with empathy and hopefulness, not denial or exploitation.
• Recognize your practice as both business and service, essential in times of crisis and beyond.
• Leverage marketing as a space for clients to feel understood and validated, especially when wider systems are overwhelming.

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Conclusion

This episode reframes marketing for therapists in difficult times as not just acceptable, but necessary—a means of offering vital support and resilience for those who need it most. By focusing on service, authenticity, and ongoing client needs, therapists can feel confident that sharing their presence and resources is both ethical and deeply valuable even, and especially, “when the world is on fire.”

Transcript

[Kim Wheeler Poivian]

Foreign.

[Host 1]

Welcome to Ask Abundance. Y' all ask the questions about having a fun and thriving practice.

[Host 2]

We answer them.

[Host 1]

We have a worksheet for you today so you can bring this answer into your life. If you want support in your practice, we have you covered with on demand or one on one support. Links for the worksheet and support are in the show. Notes can't get enough Ask Abundance. Check out our YouTube channel for the entire library.

[Host 2]

Welcome back to Ask Abundance. Today I'm joined by Kim Wheeler Poivian and Kim's been doing one on ones with Abundance for years. If you are interested in doing a one on one with her, you can click the link. So here is today's question. I keep hearing that I'm supposed to be marketing my practice more, but honestly, it feels weird when the world feels like it's constantly on fire. Between political chaos, climate disasters and collective burnout. Posting about my availability or my services can feel tone deaf or even unethical. Part of me worries that focusing on my business right now makes me feel selfish or out of touch. Is it actually ethical to market myself in times like this or should I be pulling back? Such a good question. So before we answer, I do want to thank Therapy Notes for sponsoring Ask Abundance. They've been a sponsor for years. I know their features by heart, but what truly sets them apart is that they genuinely care about your experience.

[Kim Wheeler Poivian]

Experience.

[Host 2]

It's not just about troubleshooting. They actively implement user suggested features like Therapy Search, secure Messaging, and their AI notes feature. Therapy fuel. Everyone at TherapyNotes believes the product and wants you to love it too. Plus, they're independently owned, which means no venture capital and no pressure to prioritize investors over customers. This independence allows them to keep prices fair, focused on innovation, and prioritize customer experience. With over a hundred thousand therapists already on board, they've proven that you don't have to compromise success for quality. If you're ready to see for yourself, try Therapy notes free for two months with the code [e-mail] all right Kim, the world's on fire. What do we do?

[Kim Wheeler Poivian]

Oh my goodness. I keep saying it's like 20, 20.2, right? Yes. So we had the same kind of thoughts back then too. Like should we do this or not? And we saw then that people desperately needed therapy. I think that it doesn't really change. We may be a little bit more cognizant of things that are happening in the world, but I'm going to be frank that a lot of these things were happening before and I think that some populations were well aware of it and still kind of going and plodding along and going to therapy. And if that's the thing that's really helpful for somebody, then you being there, marketing yourself and knowing and letting people know that you're accessible would be a beacon for somebody. And I think that, and I've been looking on social media here and there because I limit it, but that some people are saying, oh my gosh, how can you market yourself when the world is on fire? And then there are plenty of other people who say, I'm so happy that I still see people living and thriving and doing. And so people are going to have multiple opinions about it. And you may change your opinion from day to day depending on how you feel, because the world is on fire. It feels really crappy. But know that the people who come in to see you desperately need some help and they need some support. Absolutely. So it really hasn't, you know, it hasn't really changed that much. I think that sometimes what may be hitting people is, is this what I'm doing going to be effective enough? Is this actually the thing that's really going to be impactful when there's. There's so many other bigger problems and so many other systemic issues that are going on? And to, you know, that which I say is maybe it can help that person to cope and it can help that person in that, you know, And I think that when we do therapy, we're working on a micro level and it really is helping that person and how they function day to day. That therapy doesn't change your life, but it does change how you navigate your life. And I think that that in itself can be really impactful. So my, my specialties are racial trauma and grief, and those have always been mine. Those have always been things that I've worked with. I'm a black woman. I deal with racism and prejudice and, you know, and, and trauma and grew up in Baltimore City and saw drug abuse and lots of things growing up and throughout the years, and that's where I trained as well. And on the surface, someone could say that that's extremely hopeless and all that, but those people that you still work with still need therapy. They still need support, they still need to go through the day to day. And when you work in a really flawed system that you know is likely working against you and you see all this, it can feel extremely helpless. But what is really validating is to have a therapist who acknowledges it, who can support you and can at least try to help you to navigate some ways so that you can make your life a little bit better. It can't take away the trauma. But sometimes it really helps for the person to acknowledge that that trauma is real. Especially when you've been in a. In an environment that gaslights you or like, hides things that says that it isn't real. That what I tell clients is that you have. In a world where you have to always go out and be okay, you have an hour that it's okay to not be okay. And I think that in that it gives so much more than people actually realize.

[Host 2]

Yeah, yeah. I think too, like, you're saying there's. You're helping people cope with things. Right. That's what we do as therapists. We are not coming in and engineering their life so that things are easier. We're not able to take away these structural pieces as therapists on a micro level aside, through our vote, hopefully, which, you know, just kind of feels like pissing in the ocean. But I think that one of the things this person says is posting about my availability or services. And I think nobody really cares about your availability or your services if you're marketing. Right. What they do care about is like, how are you helping your clients navigate the fact that the world is on fire? So if you want to share some content, if you're wanting to market to get people in the door so that you can be of service, then share what's working.

[Kim Wheeler Poivian]

Yeah. And I think it. Maybe this is this thing of, like, I feel. It feels sleazy, almost kind of market yourself. And to say, well, I'm available and I'm taking clients, whereas I look at it as if you're putting yourself out there or you're creating content, then the assumption would be, well, hey, I'm. I'm available. When there was a time when I was making a lot more content than I do now. I have somebody, one other employee look up for me now. But that people would come out of state or wherever and they would say, I saw what you made. I loved it. Can I see you? Because what they love is your message. They love what you're putting out, or they just want to know that you're there. The fact that you create the website or you do the sel or you write the blog, it could be that, yes, in one way you are doing it because you're planting those seeds and you're hoping that someone's going to come to your practice. The other thing that really kind of keeps me going is that if that person doesn't come to see me. At least they found something helpful and they could take something away from it. But they could see on the website, oh my gosh, there are people out there who work with, you know, kids. Like, you know, there are people out here who do actually care. Or they can see the video and they can say, okay, I can take that information back or I know how to find a therapist. And at least if you're kind of giving something back, then, you know, you'll, you'll at least, you know, get something back. It doesn't have to be, hey, I'm here and I'm available. Or it could be that you are on a Facebook group and you do say, I am available because there are quite a few therapists who are kind of burnt out right now and that they aren't really wanting to take on anything else. And so, yeah, it would be fine for you to say, I'm available and I can take that on. Yeah, it's really helpful.

[Host 2]

Yeah. And I don't think you have to ignore the fact that the world is on fire. And I think there's a specific way to approach talking about it that is not leveraging the fact that the world is on fire. Like, you're not going to use it and you're also not going to be like, the world is on fire and everything sucks. The end.

[Kim Wheeler Poivian]

Right.

[Host 2]

Because like, that's not. If I feel like that I don't want to go to the therapist who also can't manage their own feelings around it.

[Kim Wheeler Poivian]

Right. Or a person who is in complete denial about it either.

[Host 2]

Right.

[Kim Wheeler Poivian]

And it is not, I think that it. But there are still, even with everything going on, there's still people who have eating disorders. There are still people who are experiencing grief and loss. There's still people who are going through a divorce. There are still who are struggling with self harm. There's still people who have body dysmorphia. The world. Just because this particular thing happens and we're putting a spotlight on this or this is what's happening right now in our communities, doesn't mean that we still don't have these other things that are going on. It still doesn't mean that you're not still struggling with ocd, doesn't mean that you don't have, you know, that your kid isn't. Didn't recently get a diagnosis for autism or that your family member, you know, has a terminal illness and you have anticipatory grief. These things don't change. And I think that's the thing where therapy can help you with. Okay, well, the world is like this and I have this. How can I reconcile this when which thing is most important to me? I don't care about the rest of that stuff. This is what's happening. And for them to know there is a safe space for them to go and to talk about that instead of everywhere else.

[Host 2]

Yeah. So no matter what's going on in the world, marketing is an act of service.

[Kim Wheeler Poivian]

Absolutely. Just knowing that you're there, just knowing that people are still living and doing their lives and they're running their businesses, that's in itself is like. I look at it as a form of resistance and that you're just like, not letting things kind of go. And you're not plots and the jetsum. You're not just like floating along. You're still actively living and being a part of something.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Kim Wheeler Poivian]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

Absolutely. Awesome. Well, thank you, Kim. Y'. All. We have a worksheet, a free worksheet for you around marketing that is going to help you take some of this into your real life and your real practice. And if you have questions for Ask Abundance, get in touch. If you're ready for a much easier practice, Therapy Notes is the way to go. Go to therapynotes.com and use the promo code abundant for two months free. I hope that helped.

[Host 1]

Please get in touch with any of your questions for Ask Abundance. If you're listening, you probably need some support building your practice.

[Host 2]

If you're a super newbie, grab our.

[Host 1]

Free checklist using the link in the Show Notes. I'd love for you to follow rate and review, but I really want you to share this episode with a therapist friend. Let's help all our colleagues build what they want.