As therapists, we work within a system that is perpetually under-supported and underfunded, and this is leading to high levels of therapist burnout.
Recent studies show that burnout rates in the mental health field are high right now. One poll showed that over 52% of therapists surveyed stated they experienced burnout in the past 12 months, and nearly a third (29%) of those therapists who experienced burnout in the past year and 15% of those who have not experienced burnout have considered or are currently considering leaving the mental health field (Barron, 2023).
The high burnout rates are not due to a lack of therapists trying to practice self-care. The burnout rates are due to a plethora of policies, structures, and systemic issues within our field that will take time and advocacy to change.
As therapists working in an under-supported field where we are often overextended, how do we practice self-care without our self-care plan becoming just another set of to-do items on our ever-growing list of things to complete?
This is where self-compassion comes in.
Self-compassion is a way of being in self-attunement and self-understanding with ourselves. Self-compassion is an awareness practice, not a "to-do" list.
It's tuning in and slowing down and listening to what we need at this moment- and honoring what we hear with self-kindness and self-understanding.
Self-care, when held within the larger context of self-compassion, becomes an internal process of noticing our feelings and needs and adjusting our self-care behavior to self-attune rather than adding another external thing we did or didn't check off our to-do list today.
Self-compassion tells us that sometimes the most nourishing and authentic forms of self-care are resting when we can, and setting boundaries in our personal or professional lives when it is possible to do so.
Compassionate self-care is most nourishing when experienced within a community support system of others who know what it’s like. We offer monthly live meetups where community members can connect, share support, and then practice gentle guided restorative self-care practices together.
We're also slowly growing an online community forum for support and connection. This part is still at the beginning stages of getting started; come join us and join in a conversation!
Our growing library of guided self-compassion practices designed for therapists are always there for you, between sessions, before or after work, or on weekends.
If you're looking for a deeper dive into cultivating self-compassion, this one-hour class for therapists, Self-Care is Not Enough- Creating a Self-Compassion Practice - by Esther Boykin, LMFT, offers highly useful insights and tools for how therapists can cultivate a practice of self-compassion that enhances self-care authentically and sustainably. We recently took this training, and it's excellent. We highly recommend it!
We’re wishing you moments of self-kindness and turning inward with compassion and self-kindness today.
Thank you for reading, and we hope to see you in The Therapist Sanctuary!
References
Barron, J. (2023, Therapists Are Burning Out—Here’s Why, What the Impact Is, and How to Help. SimplePractice. Retrieved Jan 27, 2024, from https://www.simplepractice.com/blog/therapist-burnout-report/
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