Mental health professionals help others, but often struggle with their own self-care. Let this page bring you together.
As therapists, we are very good at helping others, but often forget about ourselves. We cannot help others effectively unless we care for ourselves first. Therapy for therapists is often overlooked because we “know” what to do. Often, however, it’s not enough or we don’t do a good job at it on our own.
Covid 19 has thrown the world into even more chaos. Several years into the Covid pandemic and people are at their breaking points. Burnout is very real. The more your coworkers leave, the more stressful your job becomes. You feel hopeless, stressed, and unable to do the work you came into the field to do. It is taking a toll on you as you’re starting to be more irritable, your sleep becomes impacted, you don’t want to go to work, you’re fighting with your family more, drinking to relax. The bottom line is you’re burnt out and feel stuck. Even if you’re in private practice, there’s a lot of stress and Covid has only made matters worse.
You are not alone. You are not weak. You are not a failure.
It is not uncommon for nurses, doctors, and therapists, correction officers, probation officers and parole officers to burnout after working at one agency/company/location for only a couple of years. This was a trend even before Covid, which is a seriously disheartening trend. As helping professionals, we need to rely on our own self-care until (and after) all companies provide a work environment that promotes self-care. PTSD in therapists and counselors is not uncommon.
Be honest, how well do you do on self-care? You know you “should” be exercising, doing relaxation, self-regulation, etc. You hear it all the time. Do you have the energy to do it? Do you have the attention span? Can you sit and relax after sitting with clients’ emotional pain for hours on end day after day?
Right now you may not be ready for “therapy.” My job right is to help you attain a sense of internal control. If it is too much right now to ask you to do therapy, I will help you find ways to feel calmer, navigate the moral injury you feel, and feel more in control of you. Obtaining counseling as a therapist is meant to help you feel stronger, not be a chore.
Using solution focused techniques, CBT techniques for depression and anxiety, and EMDR therapy to help with trauma symptoms such as nightmares, feeling helpless, feeling jumpy, inability to relax, having a million racing thoughts and more, I help you maintain your passion of helping others by either heading off burnout or redeeming yourself from burnout depending on your degree of distress.
You dedicate your lives to helping others, not yourselves. Let this page bring you together
Therapists of all licensures…thank you for your service! You see and feel human suffering every day. Living your calling as a counselor will have an impact on you.
On this page, you will find links to helpful articles, websites and more to learn you are not alone in what you are going through. If you want to schedule an appointment with me, you can contact me here. This page brings all of you therapists and counselors together through shared experience and help you feel seen. You will find resources for self-help as well as professional help. This page is constantly being updated, so please bookmark the page and come back regularly.
Many therapists have been where you are, are currently where you are, or will be where you are. You will get through this. You will survive this and come out stronger for it. Therapy, (or psychotherapy, or counseling) can give you your life back. We should all be as strong as you to seek therapy for ourselves.
If you are on the fence about therapy, here are the benefits of therapy with me:
- It is confidential and solution-focused.
- You can be seen in the comfort of your own home through HIPAA compliant on-line counseling, which is legal AND ethical.
- As I specialize in working with other therapists, you will not be judged as weak or a failure.
- You will regain control of yourself, your mind, your emotions, and your life
If you believe you have no time, remember this: if you don’t take care of it now, it will take care of you later. Sooner or later, the symptoms stemming from PTSD in first responders will become unbearable and your entire life will be forever affected.
Maybe you are still unsure you are ready to dive into therapy. Maybe you’re not even sure you have PTSD. A safe place many people like to start their therapy journey is by opting in to one or more of my email lists. This email series in particular will help you determine if you may have PTSD and dispel some of the myths from PTSD.
Don’t put off contacting me any longer. I offer therapy for therapists through in-person psychotherapy in Sarasota, Florida as well as on-line counseling across the states of Florida and Connecticut. The initial call is the hardest part and I know you have a ton of strength. Head on over to my Contact page to make the initial contact with me.
Links to articles for therapists
What I Wish I Had Known…Burnout and Self Care in Our Social Work Profession
Burned Out…And at Risk
