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The topic of burnout can be applied to any profession that deals with daily stressors that cause exhaustion and ultimately an exodus of highly qualified professionals. In comparison, compassion fatigue happens more in the helping professions, such as counselors, nurses, doctors, public service careers, etc. Although there are similarities, compassion fatigue leads to more serious implications to the individual. Compassion fatigue can be seen when the counselor begins to experience the trauma that a client may be going through, in terms of second hand stressors. It is very serious and we must practice self care in order to avoid this.

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In becoming familiar with the ACA Code of Ethics, it is evident that self care is a mandated part of a counselors responsibilities. Not only must we maintain good routines of self care for ourselves, we do this to uphold the professional relationship we build in counseling. As a counselor, it is crucial to practice self care in order to help and treat clients. If the counselor becomes impaired in any way, they may harm the client and create more issues at hand. A counselor needs to know their limits and seek assistance when they know they are impaired.

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During a long day at work, I always aim to take a break. It is easy to neglect your own needs when you are so focused on helping everyone else around you. I always strive to stop and eat lunch, whether alone in my office or with colleagues in the lounge. When you go all day and forget to eat, you are further harming your ability to handle daily stressors effectively by not taking care of the basic needs of your body. If it is a hard day, I know that doing this will help me reset for the rest of the day.

I am also fortunate to work in a district that employs an elementary and high school counselor as well. We know that we can lean on each other when times are tough and know that we each hold confidentiality at the top of the list.