You're halfway through a session and it's just not landing. The activity you planned, gone. The client's checked out, or overwhelmed, or having one of those days that has nothing to do with your plan at all. And for a second your mind just goes blank.

If you've felt that exact drop in your stomach, you are so not alone. We hear this from AHAs all the time. And it doesn't mean you're not cut out for this.

Why this feeling is so common

Honestly, we think it comes down to this. You're often the person taking someone else's clinical plan and trying to make it work in real time, with a real person, who did not read the plan. Kids have off days. Equipment goes missing. A five year old decides today is not a scooter board day, and that's just Tuesday.

None of that means you did something wrong. It just means you're doing the job.

We actually think emotional regulation sits right underneath most of this. Not just the client's, yours too. If you're walking into a session already a bit rattled from the one before, or from your own morning, that's in the room with you whether you like it or not. We regulate and share our energy with the people around us, and that goes both ways.

A trick that might help

Robyn talks about this like a car radio. Imagine the music is turned up loud, you're driving, and someone in the back seat is trying to talk to you at the same time. You can't just block any of it out, because driving is the task you're meant to be focused on. That's kind of what it's like for a lot of the people we work with. All the stimulation coming in at once, and no volume dial to turn it down.

Some days you might feel like you're running on a V8 and some days you're on a little four cylinder just trying to get up the hill. Both are okay. The four cylinder just needs a bit more patience and a bit less pushing.

So when a session goes sideways, try slowing down before you problem solve. Even five seconds helps. Repositioning yourself, taking a breath, saying out loud "let's try something different." Kids read your energy before they read your plan, so that pause is doing more than it looks like it is.

And afterwards

This is the bit that actually builds your confidence over time, not the session itself. Jot down what you tried, what shifted things if anything did, and one specific question for your supervisor. Not "it didn't go well." More like, "when they disengaged from the fine motor task I switched to gross motor, was that the right call or should I have stuck with it a bit longer?" Specific questions get you specific, useful answers.

And also, look after yourself in this. You don't need to jump straight from one session into the next. Take the two minutes. Get the glass of water. Splash some cold water on your face if that's your thing, it's one of Robyn's favourites. You can't keep giving from an empty tank, and the next person you see deserves the best of you, not what's left over.

You didn't fail. You adapted. That's the job.

We'd love to know, what's a session moment that threw you? Drop it in the comments, we read every one.