Creating Resilience in the Face of Therapist Burnout
Therapists have been throwing around the term burnout like it’s so much a part of our identity that we don’t even need to understand what it really means, much less what to DO about it. I offer art therapy in Austin, TX and have been monitoring this problem for years, so I’d love to share what I’ve learned with you—because when you’re informed, you are able to make choices and take action in the face of challenge.
That’s RESILIENCE! And resilient therapists stand a much better chance of helping clients develop resilience too.
This Austin, TX Art Therapist Is Asking You to Get Clear About Burnout
Recently I was featured in a podcast episode of Clearly Clinical/Light Up the Couch, and the topic I addressed was therapist burnout as well as therapist burnout recovery. You can have both—burnout and burnout recovery! But first you need to understand what the terminology means.
Think about it; do you ever help your clients clarify and differentiate their feelings? I’m guessing you probably don’t let them get by with saying “I’m upset.” Upset needs to be unpacked, because it can mean several different things.
Mad? Sad? Scared?
You get the idea. It’s the same with burnout.
Compassion fatigue? Vicarious traumatization? Secondary traumatic stress?
If we as a workforce aren’t using burnout to describe the same thing, it dilutes our efforts to advocate for ourselves. And advocating for ourselves is what we need to be doing—in a grassrootsy, therapist-by-therapist way!
Therapist Burnout Recovery Doesn’t Come from Positivity and Self-care
No one should be asking you to practice toxic positivity as a means of preventing or recovering from therapist burnout. The work you do puts you at risk for a lot of negative effects, so if you’re experiencing them, understand that they’re part and parcel of the system you work in (and may have internalized).
Self-care is not the way out either. You are being rewarded for selflessness…and every day you are forced to choose between disregarding your own needs and somehow making time and effort to care for yourself. It doesn’t add up.
You’re not alone in this struggle. Based on my experience as an Austin, TX art therapist, I recorded “Developing Clinical Resilience: Nurturing Self of Therapist Beyond ‘Self Care’” for people like you and people like me; the more therapists who accelerate themselves toward burnout recovery, the more resilient therapists there will be to work with a world in need.
As an Art Therapist in Austin, TX, I’ve Seen Creativity Boost Burnout Recovery
Give the podcast episode a listen—it’ll lay the groundwork for comprehending and contextualizing what’s been hiding in plain sight all along, and it’ll also introduce you to neuro hacks you can make in the name of creativity to keep your nervous system integrated and your outlook fresh. Burnout kills creativity, and as signs of anxiety and depression creep in, your nervous system falls out of integration and negatively impacts your outlook; this compromises your ability to make choices and take action in the face of challenge. The good news is that this is preventable and reversible.
Therapist Burnout Recovery Can Start with a Phone Call
Are you interested in harnessing your creativity and bringing light into the dark corners of therapist burnout? Contact me for a complimentary 15-minute phone consultation to learn more about online art therapy in Austin, TX and discover whether I’m a good fit for your needs.
I specialize in working with helpers and givers in Texas, Arizona, and Indiana who’ve helped and given a little too much and are now feeling the anxiety and depression of imbalance. Find out how I help these special people on my About page.
And please remember this; therapist burnout is not your fault. Recovering from burnout, on the other hand, is a choice you can make and an action you can take to create resilience! Let’s do this together.