Burnt out? You’re not the only one.
Over my years of supporting therapists, I saw many therapists work in clinical practice for several years and then leave the field.
Burnout is a real struggle in many industries, but it’s especially rampant among therapists.
Have you noticed that?
People assume it’s because it’s a “heavy” field. It’s intense.
But what really goes on beneath the surface?
People who gravitate toward careers in therapy tend to have a large capacity for caretaking.
Often, as children, we were plunged into caretaking roles where we had to take care of others, or we weren’t effectively nurtured, and so emotionally took care of ourselves. We didn't get to express negative emotions like anger, sadness, or confusion.
As we grow into adulthood, our caretaking capacity is overdeveloped, but other areas of our growth remain underdeveloped.
As natural caretakers, it’s easy for us to slip into that familiar mode of caretaking where we internalize our clients emotions and responsibilities.
We start to feel overwhelmed, exhausted, or consumed with our need to help them.
This is why it’s so important to check in on our own emotional wellbeing, and notice if our needs are coming in second place.
Are you eating nourishing meals?
Taking care of you body?
Getting adequate sleep, sun, and social time?
Sometimes, it’s simply a matter of re-orienting ourselves in our identities.
Reminding ourselves that first comes a strong sense of self.
Layered above that is our job as a therapist.
Layered above that is that we are good at what we do.
When the fabric of this framework starts fraying and the layers shift and collapse, we struggle with putting our needs first… and this sets us on the road to burn-out.
Next week, I’ll give you an example of how this plays out in real time.
To health and healing,
Esther