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As a therapist, you’re the go-to source of strength and support for your clients. In the hustle and bustle of caring for your clients and those around you, you may end up setting aside your own mental health. But burnout and poor mental health can happen anyone… and this is especially pertinent for therapists and mental health professionals whose work can take a huge psychological toll on them.
It may be easy to neglect your mental health – but we want to remind you that only when you’re feeling your best, that you’ll be better able to care for your clients (and more importantly, yourself) too. In this article, we share the signs of burnout; what you can do to prevent burnout; and how you can recover from burnout, if you feel that you’re already experiencing this.
Signs of Burnout
Burnout is a common phenomenon amongst therapists, and is nothing to beat yourself up about for experiencing. According to research done by the American Psychological Association, 21% – 61% of mental health practitioners will experience signs of burnout during their careers.
As a therapist, it’s natural for us to want to keep working so that we can help our clients as much as we can. However, over-working without any real rest is a sure recipe for burnout. The work of a mental health therapist is incredibly emotionally involved; and without a proper way to decompress, your mental health can be greatly affected.
Burnout may manifest differently across individuals. However, several signs of burnout to keep an eye out for include:
- Feeling mentally or emotionally exhausted, and experiencing dread when you think about the next workday
- Feeling distanced from your job or disengaged from what you’re doing
- Having thoughts that you are unsuccessful at what you’re doing or not feeling any pride in your achievements
- Feeling overwhelmed by new tasks, even if they may be simple to-do items
- Being generally physically unwell, such as stomach pain or headaches
How to Prevent Burnout
It’s essential that you equip yourself with the skills to manage or prevent burnout in order to continue your work as a mental health professional sustainably. These are several strategies to prevent burnout, as you continue to care for your clients.
Prioritise self-care
Given the heavy nature of your work, it’s important for you to find ways to emotionally decompress from your work day. Self-care can be different for everyone: it could be walking in nature every weekend or spending a few moments doing deep breathing and journaling before you sleep every night.
Incorporate these tiny practices that give you joy and energy in your daily routine, so that you’re able to reset and recharge for the day. Have an element of mindfulness or meditation in this self-care routine, to better support your mental health.
Look after your physical health
Your physical health is intrinsically tied to your mental health. The better you feel physically, the better you’ll feel mentally – and vice versa. Make sure you have time in your schedule to clock some physical activity (whether it’s a short jog or some slow stretching), as light exercise helps to trigger mood-boosting endorphins in your brain.
You should also try to have a balanced diet that gives you the energy throughout the day; as well as have at least 7 – 9 hours of quality sleep every night, to give your mind some much-needed time to rest.
Establish clear boundaries with your clients
As a therapist, it’s natural for us to want to help our clients as much as possible; even if it’s at the expense of our own time and emotional energies. As much as we want to be available for our clients, it’s important to establish clear boundaries with our clients from the start, and honour these boundaries to affirm their importance. This includes clear communication around time of your appointments; how contactable you may be ‘after hours’, in emergencies; and the work that you’d need your client to put in for their own progress as well.
If you practice out of your home, such as through telehealth services, try to have only one area that you work in; so that you’re able to physically leave the space and ‘log off’ when it comes to the end of your schedule.
Take time to recognise your progress
When work gets busy, we lose track of what we’ve done and all that we’ve accomplished. At the end of every month, or perhaps every quarter, make some time to recognise the progress that you’ve made with your clients; and celebrate your achievements, no matter how tiny they are.
Conversely, if some clients aren’t progressing at the rate you’d initially expected, this is a good opportunity for you to review the techniques or strategies you’ve been employing so far.
Cultivate strong relationships for social support
Our social network, made up of family members, colleagues, and friends, is integral to our mental and emotional health. Knowing that we have people we can lean on can be a huge boost psychologically.
Don’t be afraid of reaching out to your network if you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed. Talking to colleagues in the mental health space can help you figure out how you’re feeling professionally or may give you ideas on how to manage your emotions; and chatting to your friends and loved ones is a good reminder how much love and support you have around you.
Recovering from Burnout
It can be hard to recover from burnout, if you’re already experiencing it. What’s most important to your recovery is being kind to yourself; and remembering that progress can be slow, especially if it’s been a tough period for you.
Making a professional appointment to speak to a therapist could also help. As you’d be familiar with, therapy can provide you with another perspective to what you’re facing, as well as strategies to process and manage your emotions. Reach out to any of our counsellors and therapists at A Space Between, and start a chat with us about your recovery journey.
References
- https://positivepsychology.com/therapist-burnout/
- https://www.lyrahealth.com/blog/therapist-burnout/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212657022000253
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/sg/blog/healing-from-within/202503/how-can-a-therapist-prevent-burnout
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9423708/
- https://www.counseling.org/publications/counseling-today-magazine/article-archive/article/legacy/recognizing-burnout-and-compassion-fatigue-among-counselors
- https://www.talkspace.com/blog/therapist-burnout/
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/sg/blog/healing-from-within/202503/which-therapists-are-more-likely-to-burn-out
- https://www.self.com/story/therapist-coping-skills
