Title: Self-Care for Therapists and Mental Health Professionals
Headings: Self-Care for Therapists and Mental Health Professionals
Self-Care for Therapists and Mental Health Professionals
1. Types of Stress Experienced by Helping Professionals
Distress
Therapist Burnout
Vicarious Traumatization
Compassion Fatigue
2. Develop a Self-Care plan
How do you cope now?
What are you already doing for self-care?
Maintaining your Self-care and continuing to eliminate Maladaptive Coping Skills
Be prepared
Commit, Share, & Follow
3. Continue to Monitor your Self-Care
4. Self-Care activities
Self Care Retreat for Women Therapists and Helping Professionals
(Sautee, GA, November 8-11, 2018)
Self Care Literature
References

Content: It is important to remain self-aware of emotional exhaustion, loss of empathy, and your sense of accomplishment – all of which fluctuate on a continuum. If you notice you are struggling in any of these areas, be sure to create and maintain your self-care plan, which will be covered later in this article. Vicarious Traumatization
Some have suggested that vicarious traumatization is also known as compassion fatigue, however, in this article we differentiate the two. Mental health professionals working with clients who were victims of trauma are particularly susceptible to vicarious traumatization. This occurs when the therapist is emotionally activated after learning or hearing about an emotionally intense experience of the client. Symptoms include psychological arousal, avoidance, distressing emotions, and the inability to stop thinking about the client’s disclosures. Left unattended, the therapist will begin developing the trauma symptoms he/she is attempting to help the client resolve. Compassion Fatigue
Compassion fatigue occurs from giving excess amounts of empathy, and is compounded by the pressure felt when clients don’t seem to be making progress. SaraKay wrote a book on this issue for social workers called Burnout and Self-Care in Social Work: A Guidebook for Students and Those in Mental Health and Related Professions.