Let's Talk About Therapist "Self-Care"
Because it is not one size fits all...
Self-Care is trending.
The girlies are scheduling their trip to the spa, doing 25-step skincare routines, and tapping into their “spirituality.” I am not here to judge or evaluate what other people do. If these help you, that’s great. I am extending an open invitation to psychotherapists and mental health providers to reflect on their personal and professional responsibilities as clinicians akin to the importance of wellness and self-care in the sustainability of their careers.
According to Gamby et al (2021), self-care can be defined as the ability to revitalize and replenish oneself in healthy ways including making conscious choices that promote optimal well-being.
Self-care involves maintaining mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, social, and cultural health. Therapists must go beyond simply practicing self-care; they should proactively maintain and monitor their well-being. And yet, BiteSize Therapy (On X) reminds us:
Close analysis may reveal an unconscious calculus, grounded in cynicism about the possibility of ever receiving real care from another person.
Developing competence in self-care requires prior experience of competent “interactive care.”
- Steven Stern (2017)
We (mental health professionals) must begin with ourselves (in our therapy/analysis). It is not a process we can engage in on our own. It must occur within relationships and through the professional community. Aligned with this stance, I provide observations regarding what gets in the way of mental health professionals’ ability to maintain their well-being:
Therapists have not engaged in enough of their work to understand and reflect on the barriers and unconscious resistances they hold related to caring for themselves
Further linked to the unconscious desires that motivate our entry into this profession, the wounded healer paradigm
Focus on handling “burnout”
The tendency to address wellness only after it becomes a significant problem (reaction over prevention)
Therapy culture and the pressures that arise from it
Rise of Social media “therapy”, pop psychology, and misunderstanding/representation of the field, ethical concerns
Lack of quality clinical supervision, mentorship, and support
Access, lack of trained supervisors, lack of choice or perceived lack of choice by trainees, issues with training programs, research to practice gap
….So what can we do? How do we shift?
1. **Harnessing Creative Energy: Fostering Your Creative Life**
1a. **Find Your Outlet:** Explore and commit to maintaining different creative outlets. Protect your creative activities by not letting anything or anyone hinder your expression or access to time dedicated to fostering a creative life.
1b. **Be Intentional:** Understand that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to creativity. Tailor your actions to suit your unique needs.
2. **Adopt a Preventive Approach:** Be proactive about your well-being. Don't wait for problems to arise to address them (preventative rather than reactionary); instead, develop an awareness of the cyclical nature of wellness.
3. **Acknowledge Barriers:** Recognize that there will always be obstacles to self-care. Identify these barriers and strategize ways to overcome them.
4. **Practice Self-Honesty:** It can be challenging to reflect on yourself and admit when you need help especially as a natural helper and giver. Make it a habit to confront this discomfort and seek assistance when necessary.
5. **Seek Support:** Engage in supervision and personal analysis or psychotherapy. It's essential to continue working through relationships with those trained to help you navigate these processes.