In my last post (Why We Must Stop Stigmatizing Suicide: Supporting Mental Health Professionals and Ending the Silence) I shared about a psychiatrist who had taken their life and about the cruel comments that were made on social media. Learning about this incident made realize that there is a need to discuss how mental health care providers can support their own mental health. I am an individual with a depression and anxiety. I am not a mental health professional. The information I am sharing is based on ideas I found online. I think this information can be helpful. I share it in the hopes that mental health professionals will read this post and find at least one thing that is useful for them.
Mental health professionals support individuals with various mental health needs. At times they may listen to serious mental health concerns. They see patients at various points on their mental health journey. In a single day they may talk with individuals who are experiencing suicidal ideation, individuals who are managing their mental health well, and everything in between. Mental health professionals are tasked with supporting people in their times of need. They may hear patients talk about very difficult things.
What can mental health professionals do to keep from burning out or experiencing difficulty handling all that they work with? How do they protect their own well-being? One key is maintaining their self-care. For mental health professionals, as with anyone, self-care is not an extra. It is something that needs to be practiced. For mental health care professionals, self-care should be a professional responsibility.
Here are some ideas of what that self-care for mental health care professionals might entail:
Set clear boundaries: Be sure to maintain reasonable work hours, limit after-hours communication, and only take on the number of cases that can be reasonably managed. It is important that mental health professionals remember that they need to maintain a caseload and work hours that do not interfere with their well-being.
Use supervision and consultation: Make sure you have a trusted colleague or supervisor to consult with. Whether it is difficult cases, emotional reactions, ethical concerns, or signs of burnout, having a colleague to discuss things with is vital. No one should try to carry everything all on their own.
Monitor your own mental health: It is important for mental health professionals to watch their own mental health for signs of difficulty. This includes monitoring things such as sleep, mood, eating habits, irritability, ability to concentrate, and ability to express empathy. If they see changes, it is important to seek assistance. This can include therapy. It is important to remember that therapy is not a sign of weakness. You would never tell a patient that therapy is a sign of weakness. Remember that when caring for yourself.
Create a separation between work and personal life: A start to doing this is by having a transition ritual to engage in at the end of work. Maybe you go for a walk, change clothes, meditate, journal, or listen to music. The important part is to have some way of signaling that you are stepping out of your role as mental health professional and into your personal life. This helps you mentally change your role and leaves the work role on hold for a while.
Prioritize basic health: Your physical health is important. It is important to follow basic health guidelines. Get enough sleep. Eat healthy foods. Exercise is important. Make sure you attend to your physical health by getting regular checkups with your primary care provider. If you have a physical health issue, be sure you are attending to it.
Build supportive relationships: It is important to have healthy relationships in your personal life. Friendships and relationships with family play a role in maintaining your mental health. They also provide time away from the commitments of work life. Make sure you engage in activities with family and friends that are unrelated to mental health work.
Practice mindfulness or reflection: There are many mindful activities that can help provide a separation from work life and can help alleviate the weight of work life. Breathing exercises and meditation are two activities that are helpful. Reflective journaling can provide an outlet and can help you recognize and process and stress.
Take breaks and vacations: It is important to get away from work. Taking breaks can decrease stress and burnout. It does not need to be a long break or an expensive vacation. Just time away from the clinical aspects of work can be beneficial.
Accept professional limits: It is important to remember that you cannot fix every patient’s problems. Try to be realistic about what you can and cannot do. Remember that you are human. Be gentle with yourself. Give yourself grace.
Mental health professionals do important work, but that work cannot be done unless they are caring for themselves. There are times when you are going to be affected by your work. That is okay. You are not expected to be unaffected by all you hear and see. Remember you are human. It is important that you have support when you need it. Boundaries help maintain your ability to carry out your work.
Mindfulness for Mental Health Professionals
I have shared activities that mental health professionals can use to protect their own mental health. I would like to spend a few moments offering some mindful activities that can be helpful.
“Leave it at work” visualization: This can be a quick visualization that provides for work/life separation. Sit quietly and close your eyes. Visualize a container. It can be any type of container that appeals to you. Visualize placing the day’s difficult conversations, emotions, and responsibilities into that container. Allow yourself to visualize leaving that container in your work environment. A powerful sentence you can tell yourself is “I can care about this without carrying it home.”
Sensory Grounding: This is a practice you might have tried with patients and not thought to do it yourself. When you get home, take a moment to deliberately notice five things you see, four things you feel, three things you hear, two things you smell, and one thing you taste. The idea behind this practice is to move you from your mental health role and into your personal life.
Mindful Music: There is a lot of research about the benefits of music. Curate a playlist for yourself. This will be your after-work playlist. Use it only when you are transiting from work. The music becomes a cue that your workday is over, and you are moving into your personal life. There are no rules on the type of music. It can be whatever feels right to you.
Journaling with boundaries: in this type of journaling, you write down anything you are still processing, but you only name it. The goal is not to process what you write down. The purpose is to give the thoughts or what you are still processing a place to reside while you move into your personal life. Close the journal and let whatever you wrote reside in the journal.
Body Scan: Here is another activity you may have done with patients. Sit or lie down comfortably. Scan your body. Notice areas where you are holding tension. Try to consciously soften those areas of tension.
The “Not Now” Practice: If a work-related issue enters your mind while you are away from work, you can tell yourself something like, “This is important, and I will return to it during my next appropriate work time.” You may have to repeat this a few times. That is okay.
An Intentional Transition Question: As you enter your personal life setting, take a moment to ask yourself, “What do I need now that I didn’t need during my workday?” The answer may surprise you. Try to give yourself what you need.
Final Thoughts
Mental health professionals play a vital role in their patients’ lives, but they still have their own lives. It is important to maintain separation. That does not mean you are not committed to your patients. Separation does not require emotional detachment. You can be supportive of your patients and care about them, while still recognizing that you do not need to carry their stories, emotions, and outcomes with you all the time. In a way it is like the message we hear on airplanes. When there is an issue on an airplane requiring oxygen masks, we are told to put our own on before attempting to help someone else. The idea of caring for yourself as a mental health professional is similar. You will be better able to help your patients if you are caring for your own mental health. You cannot pour from an empty cup.
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