A large part of what makes the Golden Thread community so special is the diversity of voices and perspectives from our readers. This month, we’re featuring Carina Schroedel, CSW: a clinical social worker, trauma-informed yoga instructor, author, and founder of Ember & Ease—a holistic healing practice rooted in mindful resilience. We chatted about how the importance of boundaries, blends clinical expertise with embodied healing practices, and the quiet revolution of heart-led therapists. Take a look at our full interview below. 

What’s something that people might be surprised to learn about you?

People are often surprised to learn how much I integrate creativity and spiritual practice into my clinical work—and how much it fuels me personally. Beyond being a therapist, I’m also a writer, yoga teacher, and energy healer.

I think people expect therapists to be logical and reserved, but I lead with heart and intuition just as much as training and science. I’ve learned that healing isn’t linear—it’s layered, soulful, and deeply human. And sometimes, what truly supports someone’s growth isn’t just insight, but art, movement, stillness, or a well-timed moment of silence.

When we take care of ourselves, we don’t take away from the work—we expand what’s possible within it.

‍Can you share your journey to becoming a therapist? What drew you to the profession?

My path to becoming a therapist wasn’t something I planned—it was something I lived into. I grew up in a home shaped by addiction, where I became deeply attuned to emotions, survival, and unspoken dynamics from a young age. Before I had the language for it, I was already holding space for others, already wondering how pain could be transformed into something more meaningful.

Over time, that sense of purpose became clearer. I worked in private practice, community mental health centers, and treatment facilities, supporting youth and adults in recovery, and began to witness the deep resilience people carry, even in the most challenging circumstances. That work revealed something sacred to me—that healing doesn’t come from fixing people. It comes from honoring their story, sitting with them in the dark, and helping them reconnect with their own inner light.

Eventually, I pursued social work, became a licensed therapist, and blended my clinical background with my training in yoga, somatic healing, and spiritual practice. To this day, this work feels less like a job and more like a calling.

If you could offer one piece of wisdom to newer therapists, what would it be?

Start as you mean to go on. Create a practice that nourishes you, not just your clients. That means setting clear boundaries, ending sessions on time, resting when you need to, and charging rates that honor your energy and expertise.

You don’t need to be perfect to be powerful. Some of the most healing work happens in silence, in presence, in the moments where you simply see someone without judgment. Let your humanity into the room. It will matter more than you know.

Do you have a daily ritual or habit that grounds you before seeing clients or between sessions?

Between sessions, I practice yoga or Tai Chi, light incense or a candle, or pause for a few breaths. I might do a quick journal entry or go outside and let the sunlight hit my face.

These rituals remind me I don’t have to carry everything—I can release and restore as I go. Before sessions, I often repeat a grounding phrase: “May I stay rooted in myself, and open to what this moment needs.”

What’s one underrated or overlooked therapeutic skill you think more clinicians should focus on?

Slowing down. In a world obsessed with doing more, being more, knowing more—we forget the medicine of quiet. Let silence be a part of the session. Let your client breathe. Let you breathe.

Also, don’t underestimate the power of gentle psychoeducation. Many clients have never had their symptoms explained to them with compassion. When we offer simple, clear insights about the nervous system, trauma responses, or emotional regulation, we help clients reclaim power they didn’t even know was theirs.

Don’t underestimate the power of gentle psychoeducation. Many clients have never had their symptoms explained to them with compassion. When we offer simple, clear insights about the nervous system, trauma responses, or emotional regulation, we help clients reclaim power they didn’t even know was theirs.

What do you do to take care of your own mental and emotional well-being?

I believe we all carry an internal light. Sometimes that light is vibrant and steady, and we have more to give. Other times it flickers, and we need to draw from others—and that’s okay. We aren’t meant to glow alone.

To care for my own light, I practice mindfulness daily. I journal to process emotions, walk in nature to reset my energy, and integrate yoga, Tai Chi, and meditation into my workday. These aren’t things I save for the weekend—they’re built into my life, because they allow me to show up fully, with clarity and care.

I also stay in therapy myself, and I spend intentional time with my kids and partner, who remind me that joy is found in the smallest moments.

How do you set boundaries around your time, especially with client communication or documentation?

I treat boundaries as a form of professional self-respect. I don’t respond to emails or messages outside my work hours, and I set clear expectations with clients from the very beginning.

I also schedule time for transition time between sessions. That buffer helps me release one story before stepping into the next. I’ve learned the hard way that overworking and overstretching myself doesn’t serve anyone—and especially not the people I’m trying to help.

I treat boundaries as a form of professional self-respect. I don’t respond to emails or messages outside my work hours, and I set clear expectations with clients from the very beginning.

How do you maintain a sense of meaning and motivation in your work over time?

I remind myself daily that this work is about liberation. Not just symptom management, but helping people come back to themselves—back to their bodies, their voice, their truth. When a client sets a boundary, speaks with self-compassion, or notices a trauma response with more grace than before…that’s transformation. That’s why I keep going.

I also write, create healing resources, and host community spaces—because creativity is where I process and reconnect. That’s where I remember that this work doesn’t stop at the therapy hour. It ripples outward into homes, families, and futures.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?

I want to remind every healer, clinician, and caregiver out there that you are not alone. Your sensitivity is not a weakness. Your burnout is not a failure. You are not meant to carry everything by yourself. So many of us enter this field with a deep desire to help and hold others, and somewhere along the way, we forget we’re allowed to be held too.

I truly believe that utilizing every tool and resource available to us is not just wise—it’s essential. That might mean supervision, consultation, therapy, somatic work, rest, creative expression, or simply asking for help. We don’t need to prove we’re strong by doing it all alone. We’re stronger when we lean into support systems, healing practices, and professional tools that restore our energy and remind us of our own humanity.

The world doesn’t need more burned-out therapists—it needs more whole ones. More therapists who are lit from within by purpose and nourished by the very care we offer others. I’m passionate about building spaces where we’re not just surviving this work, but reconnecting with its heart. When we take care of ourselves, we don’t take away from the work—we expand what’s possible within it.

So, please—use what’s available. Make space for yourself. Let your healing be part of the healing you offer the world.