Episode 193: From FBI to Burnout Specialist: Preventing Burnout in High-Pressure Professions [featuring Rachel Murdock]

In this episode, I talk with Rachel Murdock, a burnout prevention specialist, group practice owner, and former FBI employee who bravely walked away from a "golden handcuffs" career to reclaim her well-being and design a life on her own terms. Her story is an empowering reminder that sometimes betting on yourself is the best investment you can make. Here are 3 key takeaways: Burnout isn’t just about workload—culture matters. Toxic organizational structures, lack of boundaries, and constant demand can erode even the most passionate professionals. Sometimes, the hardest part isn’t the job itself, but the noise of the system you're in. Permission to pause can change everything. Rachel emphasizes that we’re at our best when we step back, take breaks, and intentionally reset. Small, regular pauses (even just 15 minutes!) help rejuvenate your nervous system and protect your long-term health. Your impact is meaningful, but your well-being matters more. Organizations will survive when you move on. Choosing yourself isn’t selfish—it’s necessary. There’s power in letting go of the idea that you have to sacrifice your own needs for the mission. If you’re feeling stuck, burnt out, or scared to make a change, Rachel’s journey proves you can honor your passion, set boundaries, and thrive beyond traditional structures. More about Rachel: Rachel Murdock, MS, LPC, LCPC, is the owner/clinician providing mental health counseling in private practice with Beyond the Storm Behavioral Health, LLC. She is a licensed counselor in Missouri, Kansas, and Iowa, and supervises clinicians obtaining licensure in Missouri and Kansas. Her practice specializes in mental health counseling for first responders and individuals experiencing anxiety, mood disorders, or post-traumatic stress, and survivors of abuse. Rachel does wellness checks for various first responder agencies to promote psychological resilience, psychoeducation about trauma and coping skills, and provide resources and referrals as part of a statutory mandate in Missouri (590.192), requiring all sworn peace officers and dispatch personnel to meet with a program service provider every three to five years. Prior to January 2023, Rachel was a Supervisory Child/Adolescent Forensic Interviewer (SCAFI) with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Victim Services Division, Child Victim Services Unit, and held this position for seven months prior to her resignation, which led to her reopening her private practice. From November 4, 2012, to July 3, 2022, she was a Child/Adolescent Forensic Interviewer (CAFI) in the same unit. Prior to joining the FBI, Rachel was a forensic interviewer at The Child Advocacy Center, Inc., in Springfield, Missouri. During her career as a forensic interviewer, Rachel conducted almost 3,000 forensic interviews of alleged victims of/or witnesses to an incident. Rachel has studied forensic interviewing, children’s memory and suggestibility, process of disclosure, and trauma responses of victims for over 20 years. Rachel has published on topics such as definitions of child abuse and neglect, the disclosure process in child abuse victims/witnesses, forensic child psychology, dynamics of compliant victimization, internet exploitation, suggestibility, and trauma. Her manuscripts all appear in peer-reviewed journals or book chapters, and Rachel has presented locally, nationally, and internationally about these topics since 2006. Rachel has testified in state and federal hearings and trials during her career as a fact and/or expert witness. Rachel is a faculty member with Avila University’s Graduate Counseling Psychology program and an adjunct faculty member Missouri State University’s Department of Psychology, where she created a course, Psychology of Child Abuse and Exploitation, and co-authored a textbook regarding issues of...