Career Navigation Series
Workshops hosted by Dr. Caroline Fraissinet
Work plays a big role in our well-being, and finding ways to make it sustainable matters. Join us for a series of conversations designed by Dr. Caroline Fraissinet to support your career journey—from job searching and returning to work to setting boundaries and protecting yourself in the workplace. Together we’ll explore everything from career navigation to workplace self-advocacy.
Building on our award-winning 6-part series, these standalone monthly workshops cover career development topics and building sustainable, meaningful careers while managing mood disorders.
Meet Your Host, Dr. Caroline Fraissinet
Dr. Caroline Fraissinet is a 2025 DBSA Outstanding Peer Leader Award recipient, serves on the Board of Directors for DBSA California, and facilitates peer support meetings with DBSA City of Angels. She is the founder of Career Wavelength, a career coaching practice that bridges mental health awareness and career development—helping professionals design careers aligned with their individual needs, values, and life circumstances. Caroline earned her doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership, researching barriers to equitable career access.
Caroline lives with cyclothymia, OCD and ADHD. You can learn more about her and her practice at www.careerwavelength.com.
Previous Session Recordings
Session 1: Identifying What You Want and Need
Finding the right career path can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re navigating mental health, changing priorities, or uncertainty about what comes next. In this session, we’ll explore how to identify your values, strengths, wants and needs so you can make career decisions that actually support your well-being. Through guided reflection and discussion, participants will begin mapping what a fulfilling and sustainable career could look like for them.
Session 2: Having A Balanced Job Search
Traditional advice usually focuses on generic search strategies, basic application material tips, and broad networking best practices. This workshop goes beyond that, to address common challenges those with mood disorders often face. How should you structure your job search schedule? How do you tell your story and articulate your unique strengths in your application? How do you network authentically? Through explorative activities and peer-informed guidance, you'll leave with strategies to not only search for a job, but to stay well while you are in the midst of looking for your next opportunity.
Session 3: Going With the Flow
Most career advice treats energy as a willpower problem: push harder, start earlier, be more disciplined. For people with mood disorders, that framing misses something important. Our circadian systems are more sensitive than most, meaning irregular sleep, sudden schedule changes, or back-to-back meetings can have a real impact on mood stability. So what does your natural energy arc actually look like? What kinds of work deplete you, and what rhythm disruptors are hiding inside your workday?
This workshop introduces Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT), a tried-and-true framework for mood disorders, and applies it to common work challenges. Through reflective activities and peer-informed guidance, you'll leave with a clearer picture of your own patterns and practical tools for building a work life that supports — rather than undermines — your wellbeing.
Session 4: Navigating Transitions and Gaps
Career paths rarely go exactly as planned — and for many of us managing mood disorders, that can mean navigating a new field, a leave of absence, or a gap that's hard to explain. How do you identify and communicate the transferable skills you already have? How do you address gaps on your resume or in interviews honestly, professionally, and on your own terms? And how do you manage the emotional weight of feeling like you're starting over or watching others move forward while your path took a turn?
This workshop explores both the practical and personal sides of career transitions, offering strategies for researching new paths, presenting yourself confidently, and working through the harder feelings that can come with change. Wherever you are in your journey, you'll leave with practical tools and language to help you move forward with greater confidence.
Session 5: Work-Life Balance With A Mood Disorder
Staying stable with a mood disorder is a constant balancing act, and the demands of work don't always pause for mood cycles. How do you identify and address triggers at work? How can you build a schedule around fluctuating energy levels so deadlines and workloads stay manageable? And how do you communicate your needs and limitations clearly without over-explaining? This workshop explores the practical and personal sides of work-life balance, from navigating accommodations and protecting your energy to setting boundaries and learning to truly unplug. Whether you're starting your first job or navigating a long career, you'll leave with practical tools to protect your stability without giving up your work.