Maybe It’s Burnout

It’s June and we are approaching 2021’s halfway mark. How much vacation time have you taken so far? Are you aware of the number of hours you are working every week?

In graduate school, our Law and Ethics professor asked us to write a self-care plan describing the ways we planned to enjoy our free time and care for ourselves. He believed it was unethical for therapists to overwork and neglect themselves. To prove his point, he brought in photos from his rock-climbing trips and other outdoor adventures. He patiently explained that if we did not take care of ourselves, we could not be present for our clients and would inevitably feel the symptoms of burnout.

In my prior career I was rewarded for working hard and staying late, so I was a bit skeptical about his suggestions, I thought I might have more endurance than my professor. When I started seeing more than fifteen clients a week, I remembered his words and I scheduled my first vacation. At the time I couldn’t afford to go far but I was able to spend a few days hiking in Santa Barbara; I’m grateful that I can now afford to spend a full week there.

One day I was talking to a colleague about burnout, and she asked how you know if you are approaching it. I reached for one of my favorite books The Resilient Clinician by Robert J Wicks where the author (2006) describes some of the symptoms of burnout. Here are a few:

• Feeling mentally fatigued at the end of the day.
• Feeling unappreciated, bored, tense or irritable as a result of contact with clients or staff if you work in a treatment setting.
• The pace of the day’s activities/requirements seems greater than you can handle. Feeling like “you don’t have enough gas in the tank” on a regular basis.
• Experiencing boredom during client sessions.

Wicks (2006) states that psychotherapists often make statements that imply that that their chronic symptoms of secondary stress are all “part of the job” as opposed to symptoms of burnout that require a response. One example is engaging in workaholism—the idea that we have to be constantly checking and responding to clients’ texts and emails during non-work hours.

I love my work as a psychotherapist, it is meaningful and rewarding, however, it is only one aspect of my life. I ask my clients to imagine their lives like a large pie with each section representing a slice of time. One person likes to think of her time as a flower with petals for each section, we explored all the petals and she realized that she wanted to spend more time doing her art and less time at work.

The antidote to burnout is simple but not easy for some people; create a fulfilling life outside of work. Every March I schedule a hiking trip to Utah; I chose not to fly this year but am planning a local hiking trip next month. Each year in December I block out my vacation time for the upcoming year in a prophylactic attempt to avoid feeling surprised by the fatigue that comes when I haven’t taken enough time off.

Avoiding burnout was particularly challenging in 2020 as we were holding out clients’ reactions to the pandemic, racial injustice, and multiple sources of collective suffering in the world. I’ll continue to look for signs this year and make sure I am prioritizing my self-care. Now more than ever it’s important to take time for ourselves and do the things that help us replenish our brains and bodies. On the weekends I enjoy outdoor activities like hiking and riding my bike, dinners and walks with friends and family, and daily time with my beloved dog; What do you do to prevent burnout?

Maria Gray, LMFT, NMP, CGP, is a psychotherapist in private practice in Los Angeles. She is a Brainspotting Specialist who specializes in trauma and addictions. Maria is a Certified Group Therapist and currently offers three online groups in her practice. She enjoys working with adults who grew up around mentally ill or addictive family members. To learn more, go to  www.mariagray.net.