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Valentine’s Day: Day of Love or Day of Longing?
What comes to your mind when you think of Valentine’s Day? If you suffer from anxiety and worry, then there is a good chance that you are concerned about being disappointed or about disappointing someone.
Santa’s Secrets for a Stress-Free Holiday Season
If anyone knows how stressful the holiday season can be, it’s Santa Claus. I've often wondered how he's able to keep his cool when things are heating up at the North Pole. I recently interviewed Santa and asked him how he handles holiday stress. Here's what he had to say.
Executive Director's Corner
Helping Children Survive the Emotional Aftermath of a Hurricane
No parent has adequate words to explain the destruction that nature causes. When our children ask us the big questions, such as “Why?” or “What is going to happen next?” after a flood, earthquake or hurricane has destroyed their home, community or disrupted daily life, adults can get stuck
My Journey Through Anxiety
My name is Zac Hersh, but I go by “Z.” I am a 23-year-old recent college graduate, certified personal trainer, yoga instructor, mindfulness and meditation co
Mental Health Skills for the Next Generation
General guidelines for youth mental health: Teach them compassion and gratitude
ADAA Member Awards
Hacking Burnout for Professionals Who Do Too Much + −
Karen Cassiday, PhD, ACT and Elizabeth DuPont Spencer, LCSW
Professional burnout is an increasing and real risk for mental health professionals. Rates of professional burnout have been increasing since the Pandemic due to a magnification of previously existing risk factors. This presentation will review the science of professional burnout, both employer risk factors and employee risk factors that place can place those who know most about mental health at risk for suffering the ill effects of burnout. Employer risk factors include unrealistic expectations for work hours, time away from work, administrative requirements and lack of high quality workplace relationships and meaningful expression of concern or appreciation for employees. Employee risk factors include professional perfectionism, imposter Syndrome, poor negotiation skills, inability to switch from a competitive academic mindset to a collaborative team first mindset and inability to recognize and accept personal limitations. Additionally, the most common misperception from employers and employees is that moments of self-care will solve burnout. In short, fragrant candles, yoga and self-affirmation is inadequate for addressing professional burnout.
Mental health professionals face some unique risk factors such as a shortage of providers in relation to the public's need for mental healthcare, lack of adequate funding that often interferes with the desire to provide the ideal mental health treatment, severe shortage of psychiatric prescribers and low density of providers and psychiatric facilities in rural or impoverished areas creates a burden of professional guilt. Graduate and undergraduate loans can create barriers for choice of employment or the belief that one has limited choices for employment. Lengthy years spent competing for grades, scholarships and evaluations trains many mental health professionals into a perfectionistic and competitive lifestyle that promotes burnout. Lastly, over focus upon taking the perspective of others can interfere with negotiating contracts and workplace responsibilities.
Evidence-based strategies for ameliorating and preventing professional burnout will be described. Strategies that address Imposter Syndrome, professional perfectionism, poor negotiation skills, competitive mindset and that build a collaborative workplace with colleagues will be reviewed. The role of gratitude, good humor and self-compassion will also be explained as it relates to creating a healthier workplace.
