Burnout of psychologists

Professional burnout is the result of chronic stress at work. Here are its main symptoms.

Emotional and physical fatigue that does not let go even after sleep.
A negative, aloof, or cynical attitude toward work. The psychologist loses empathy, becomes cold and indifferent. Customer problems cause boredom or irritation.
A feeling of ineffectiveness. Sometimes a psychologist stops coping due to physical fatigue. Sometimes clients do not make progress for reasons beyond the specialist's control - but he feels incompetent.

You can check if you have burnout with the help of proven tests.

According to the American Psychological Association, 45% of psychologists suffer from burnout. And some studies generally show a figure of 78.9%. And another problem is serious in any case: the quality of psychological help depends on the condition of the specialist. It has been proven that burnout directly affects the effectiveness of therapy

Compassion fatigue. The more we empathize, the faster it leads to emotional exhaustion and reduced empathy.
Heavy load, long working day. In recent years, the situation has worsened: for example, in the USA, 38% of psychologists began to work more due to the pandemic4.
Lack of success. The reason may be a lack of knowledge and experience, complex clients with chronic conditions, addictions, relapses. It also happens that the specialist simply does not have enough feedback.
The boundaries between professional and personal life are blurred. The psychologist is often called and written during non-working hours; you can get rid of sleep and rest if you do not mark certain boundaries.
Lack of control over your schedule, methods, etc. building The problem is acute for hired employees, especially state employees.

Find a comfortable number of sessions and clients to give each one maximum attention, but not to the detriment of yourself.

Give time and attention to all areas of life. Do not allow work to displace sleep, physical activity, rest, hobbies, entertainment, communication with family and friends, spiritual practices.

Therapy is needed so that your personal problems do not affect work. Supervision has a different purpose: a senior colleague helps to analyze difficult practical situations and develop professional skills. Here it is important to find a specialist with whom you are comfortable. A secure and trusting relationship with your supervisor will keep you engaged5.

Reread old entries. Get in touch with past clients to find out how their lives have changed.

Identify your strengths. Make a list of your successes. Think about what you do well and how it helps you at work. Remember this in difficult moments when you lack energy and motivation.

We are lifelong learners, and that's okay. Identify gaps in your knowledge and skills, set specific goals. As you achieve them, your professional confidence will grow.

Notice the alarm signals: sleep disturbances, boredom during sessions, the desire for the client not to show up. This is a sign that you need to rest.

Take a break. A psychologist should not work through force. Rest, take care of your health, devote time to your hobbies and loved ones. It is not necessary to decide something right away. It is important to consider everything calmly, and for this you need to come to your senses.
Consult a therapist if you have done without one before. Acceptance and responsibility therapy is particularly effective in combating burnout6. This is a cognitive-behavioral approach aimed at developing psychological flexibility.
Analyze the situation. Remember what you want from life and from your profession. What do you love about your job? What are you proud of? What inspires you? What is difficult? What causes stress? What causes the hands to drop? How much are you selling your valuables? How do you imagine the ideal balance between career and life?
Think about how to reduce the gap between desires and reality. Find another job? To leave a state institution for private practice? Change profession? Stay where you are, but reduce the load or firmly set boundaries?
Set new goals and take action with the support of loved ones, colleagues, a supervisor or a personal therapist.

For a psychologist, self-care is a matter of professional ethics. What exactly is included in this concept? In Simple Self-Care for Therapists, experienced psychotherapist Ashley Davis Bush breaks down macro- and micro-care.

Macro care is strategic level measures:

Healthy sleep, nutrition, physical activity.
Balance between different areas of life.
Support and development of relationships.
Correctly placed boundaries.
Regular holidays.
Pleasures and rewards that make life brighter.

Macrocare requires resources and sometimes seems like an illicit luxury. However, microcare is a simple technique that you can try even today. They bring us back to reality, give us support and relieve stress, preventing it from building up. In addition, they increase awareness - a skill well developed in successful psychologists.

Here are a few such techniques from Bush's book.

Focus on your breathing. Imagine that you inhale and exhale a flow of love together with the air: you receive and give it to your family, relatives, friends, and clients.
Take something round - a coin or a ball. Imagine a worldwide circle of specialists who help people. Feel part of this huge community.
Prepare your favorite drink and try to do nothing for 5 minutes, but just be. Feel the temperature of the drink, the taste, the smell. Do not be distracted by calls and messages. Imagine that you are in your bubble, protected from the outside world.
Use breathing techniques such as 4-7-8 to calm down quickly. Breathe in through your nose for 4 counts. Hold your breath for 7. Exhale for 8 through pursed lips. Repeat the cycle several times.
Try to formulate the intention of the day in the morning: "Today I will discover joy", "Today I am grateful for everything I have." Say it out loud or to yourself, think about it for a few minutes.
Hug yourself and hold for 20 seconds. You can imagine that you are hugging a child. Humans need tactile contact, and even our own touches count.
Walk through all 5 senses, bending the fingers on the hand. Focus your gaze on one object and try to consider new details. Listen to the sounds. Pay attention to the smells. Feel the touch of clothes and air. Switch to mouthfeel.

These techniques are easy to incorporate into your daily life, even if you are very busy. They can be performed in the morning or in the evening, at the end or at the beginning of the working day, as well as between sessions.

Burnout syndrome is dangerous not only for the psychologist, but also for the clients. To reduce your risks, you need to monitor your condition, regulate your workload, take care of all your needs, work with colleagues and practice mindfulness.