Counselor Self-Care by

Professional "Take Away"

melaniedianna — 2024-10-28 02:55:00 UTC

After reviewing the resources from burnout, two things stand out as a common theme. First, counselors can experience vicarious trauma, which can manifest in trauma-like symptoms and increased irritability and can lead to professional distress (Meyers, 2015). Second, when counselors are not taking care of themselves, they will be ineffective in their role and be able to do more harm to their clients (Bradley et al., 2013).

Reflection on Self-Care

melaniedianna — 2024-10-28 02:56:07 UTC

The article by Shallcross (2013) sums it up in the title. Counselors are not made of steel and are not superhuman. Even though clients come to the counselor for help, they need to know when to ask for help or participate in preventive care.

Self-Care Strategies

melaniedianna — 2024-10-28 02:56:47 UTC

My first strategy is to have a trusted peer to help debrief or even see another counselor to help process counseling services. A counselor for the counselors would help them process the emotional weight of working with a client’s trauma.

My second strategy would be to set boundaries on the caseload to prevent an unhealthy work-life balance (Meyers, 2015). The limited caseload would also help give the best quality of care for the clients.

Self-Care Graphic

melaniedianna — 2024-10-28 02:58:57 UTC

Self-care can take many forms, and the key is to do something! Staying silent is not an option for counselors.

References

melaniedianna — 2024-10-28 03:00:26 UTC

Bradley, N., Whisenhunt, J., Adamson, N., & Kress, V. (2013). Creative approaches for promoting counselor self-care. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 8(4), 456-469.

Meyers, L. (2015). Stumbling blocks to counselor self-care. Counseling Today, 57(9), 30-37.

Shallcross, L. (2013). Who’s taking care of Superman? Counseling Today, 55(7), 42-46.