Distress, Therapist Burnout, Self-care, and the Promotion of Wellness for Psychotherapists and Trainees

Course overview

Course Description: This article on wellness for the therapist encourages all psychotherapists and trainees to practice on-going self-care. It includes a discussion of burnout and its components, vicarious traumatization, the impact of distress, and the role of balance in avoiding therapist burnout. The APA Ethics Code sections dealing with self-care and wellness are reviewed, as are an assessment and strategies for proper self-care. Blind spots and warning signs are presented, followed by checklists for both positive and negative coping practices. The article wraps with recommendations for integrating self-care into the daily life of the practitioner. This course is based upon material published on the Society for Psychotherapy website and is available as an open access article. This course on burnout, self-care, and wellness is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. This course is appropriate for beginning, intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop their understanding of wellness strategies. The course material includes a review of strategies for avoiding burnout and promoting self-care. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require clinical continuing education courses for license renewal. Author: Jeffrey E. Barnett, PsyD Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding therapist burnout, self-care and the promotion of wellness. Specifically, a professional will: •Describe the components of burnout •Identify the role of balance in avoiding therapist burnout •Recognize how to integrate self-care into daily life Citation: Barnett, J. (2014, December). Distress, burnout, self-care, and the promotion of wellness for psychotherapists and trainees: Issues, implications, and recommendations. [Web article]. Retrieved from: http://www.societyforpsychotherapy.org/distress-therapist-burnout-self-care-promotion-wellness-psychotherapists-trainees-issues-implications-recommendations Visit us online for a full year of unlimited online CEUs.