As a therapist you meet a lot of suffering. Suffering brings about compassion. But over time if compassion is just flowing out one way (to your clients), you can end up drained and eventually burnt out.
Common signs of burnout in therapists are:
- Feeling tired and exhausted all the time (emotionally, physically and mentally)
- Feeling more negative and cynical towards clients and caring less about their experiences
- Feeling guilty, inadequate or incompetent.
It doesn’t matter if you’re the most caring and compassionate person ever! If you aren’t recharging yourself, just like a battery, eventually you’ll be drained. Some of that care must be directed towards yourself.
No doubt, you already know all the ‘self-care’ stuff out there (sleep, eating well, taking time to exercise, get out in nature and spending time with people who make you smile).
But an often overlooked and crucial ‘recharge’ for therapists is self-compassion. For longevity in the line of work you do, compassion must be a two-way street. The more compassion flowing inwards the more resources available to flow outwards.
Perhaps the tendency to ‘overlook’ compassion for self is due to resistance to directing care to yourself (surprisingly common for people in the caregiving world!), or simply not knowing how. Like many things in life, it takes practice. To start with it might feel awkward, or forced. But persistence is key! Over time you can recharge your own battery with warmth and care, support and attention.
How to start?
There are lots of little practices you can try to purposely direct self-compassion to yourself. Here are a couple to experiment with!
Throughout your day: Save some mindful attention and awareness for yourself
Between clients take a moment to check in with yourself. What’s going on for me right now? How am I feeling this? Be curious and open to what you find. Respond to your experience by offering yourself some warmth, kindness and support (perhaps placing a hand on your belly, chest, or hugging your elbows; saying a kind word to yourself; or imaging being surrounded by a golden, healing, protective light).
Then take a minute to tune into the flow of your breath, the feeling of your feet on the floor or sounds outside in the distance. Let this body experience anchor you to the present moment.
At the end of your day: Handing over responsibility
Sometimes it can be hard to put down difficult clients and you can end up carrying them home with you. Have a go with this practice as a way of putting down responsibility and letting go so you can be present in your own life away for work.
Let me know how you find this practice!
P.S. If you’ve got some clients you’d like to refer to our MBSR courses (a great complement to therapy) you can find all our upcoming courses here. Or perhaps you’d like to join a course yourself! We’d love to have you!