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42 Looking after yourself A counsellor’s own wellbeing is of paramount importance. Firstly, counsellors are human beings with their own needs, so it is appropriate for them to be sensible in caring for themselves. Additionally, from a professional point of view, it is essential for counsellors to look after themselves, because counsellors who are not feeling good are unlikely to be fully effective in helping the people who seek their help. Counselling can be draining, so counsellors need support, otherwise they are likely to find themselves emotionally depleted. If they are to feel good they must resolve their own personal issues satisfactorily while receiving the support they need. This can be done as described previously, through regular supervision from an experienced counsellor (see Chapter 41). In recent years, it has become clear that all counsellors at times experience what is known as burnout. Burnout is disabling, but if it is recognised in its early stages, it is comparatively easy to take remedial action. Even experienced counsellors fail at times to recognise the onset of burnout and try to convince themselves that the symptoms they are experiencing are due to some other cause. It is difficult for many counsellors to admit to themselves, let alone to others, that they are burning out, even though there is now general acceptance that burnout is a common problem. 1 he first step in dealing with burnout is to be aware of the symptoms.
BURNOUT SYMPTOMS 1 here are many symptoms that come under the general heading of burnout. These symptoms give an indication that a counsellor is becoming drained emotionally by the counselling work. Counsellors may experience a feeling of being totally overworked and of having no control over their workload. They may perceive themselves as swimming against the tide and unable to keep their heads above water. This leads to feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.
Every counsellor is at risk of burnout
PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS Counsellors experiencing burnout are usually tired physically, emotionally and mentally. They start to feel that they can’t face another counselling session. Typically, a counsellor may say to themselves while counselling: ‘ 1 really can’t bear to be here. 1 wish this person would just go away.’ 1 he counsellor may also experience being physically debilitated and find it hard to drag themselves to work. Their enthusiasm has evaporated and they may have physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach-aches, skin disorders, high blood pressure or back and neck pains. Their susceptibility to viruses and other infections is increased.
NEGATIVE ATTITUDES Burnt-out counsellors may develop strong negative attitudes towards the people who seek their help. They may develop a cynical attitude to them and blame them for creating their own problems. 1 hey may even start to treat them in an impersonal way, as though they were objects and not human beings. Consequently, the counselling relationship will suffer and counselling will become a chore, rather than an interesting, challenging and creative activity. Such counsellors no longer find satisfaction in their work. Negative attitudes may also be experienced towards fellow workers, supervisors, other staff and the employing organisation.
DISILLUSIONMENT Disillusionment with the counselling process is a major burnout symptom. Counsellors start to question the value of their work and begin to wonder if what they are doing is worthwhile. Burnt-out counsellors will often be unable to see any evidence of success in their work. They feel frustrated by what they perceive as their inability to bring about change in the people who seek their help and are dissatisfied with their job, believing that it involves giving and getting nothing in return. This leads to feelings of failure and low self-esteem. The demands of people who seek their help become too great and the counsellor may just want to withdraw from the helping situation. In the advanced stages of burnout, counsellors start taking days off sick, and may start frantically looking for a new job so that they can resign.
PERSONAL CONSEQUENCES One of the sad consequences of burnout is that it is likely to affect the counsellor’s personal life. As a counsellor’s self-esteem diminishes, their personal relationships may be put in jeopardy and other people may become targets for feelings of anger, frustration, helplessness and hopelessness. I he symptoms of burnout that we have outlined above can occur quite suddenly but at other times they build up gradually. Because of this, it can be useful to check from time to time to determine how well you are doing in keeping burnout at bay. A good way of doing this is to measure your burnout score using an inventory such as the one below. We, the authors, developed this inventory especially for counsellors.
A MAJOR CAUSE OF BURNOUT What is the primary cause of burnout? Well, we can’t be certain, and all counsellors are different, but it seems likely that a major cause of burnout is the stress of the interpersonal counselling relationship. This is an unbalanced relationship, with the counsellor doing most of the giving and the person seeking help doing most of the receiving.
Burnout inventory In order to obtain a burnout score, you need to answer each question m the following list by putting a ‘X' on the rating scale after each question. It is best to put each lX: directly under one of the alternatives (such as 4mildly agree’) rather than at an intermediate point between two possibilities. After completing the inventory use the instructions provided at the end to obtain your score. 1 I have positive attitudes to counselling and think that the work is really worthwhile. 2 AgreeStrongly agree UncertainMildly agreeAgreeStrongly agree Uncertain Mildly agreeAgreeStrongly agree Mildly agreeAgreeStrongly agree I am always willing to do extra work. Mildly disagree Disagree 1 Uncertain 1 1 My personal life is suffering as a result of my counselling work. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree AgreeStrongly agree AgreeStrongly agree I feel as though I need to hide my inadequacies and faults. Strongly disagree 360 Mildly disagree Disagree 1 6 Mildly agree I always relate to the person seeking counselling on a personal and individual basis and do not treat them just as cases to be dealt with. Strongly disagree 5 Mildly disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 4 Uncertain There is too much to do in a day. Strongly disagree 3 Mildly disagree Disagree Strongly disagree PART 7 Disagree Professional, issues Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree7 When I go home I usually forget about the people who come to me for counselling and get on with the rest of my life. Strongly disagree 8 Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree Strongly agree Agree I don’t blame the people who come to counselling for their problems. Strongly disagree 9 Disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree Strongly agree Agree I usually look forward with pleasant anticipation to people coming for counselling help. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree Ag ree Strongly agree 10 I can’t do the job the way I think is best. There are too many don’ts. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree Agree Strongly agree 11 The system at work needs changing, but 1 don’t have the power to change it. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree Agree Strongly agree 12 I often feel like saying to people who come for help, ‘you think you have problems; what about me?’ Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree Agree Looking after yourself Strongly agree CHAPTER 42 36113 I find it easy to talk to other counsellors about my feelings. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree UncertainMildly agreeAgreeStrongly agree Mildly agreeAgreeStrongly agree 14 I feel emotionally depleted. Strongly disagreeDisagreeMildly disagreeUncertain 111i 15 I just can’t cope with some types of people who come for counselling help. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree Agree Strongly agree 16 I feel as though I’m losing my ability to get in touch with the feelings of some of the people who come for counselling help. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agreeAgreeStrongly agree Mildly agreeAgreeStrongly agree Mildly agreeAgreeStrongly agree 17 Counselling is all giving with no return. Strongly disagree DisagreeMildly disagree i1 Uncertain People hold counsellors in high regard. Strongly disagree Disagree Uncertain Mildly disagree 1 1 19 Many people who come for counselling deserve to suffer because they just don’t live by acceptable standards. Strongly disagree 362 PART 7 Disagree Professional, issues Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree Agree Strongly agree20 I really need to take a break from counselling. Disagree Strongly disagree 21 Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree AgreeStrongly agree AgreeStrongly agree AgreeStrongly agree I feel warm and friendly towards my fellow counsellors. Disagree Strongly disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree 22 I believe that my standard of counselling is improving. Disagree Strongly disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree 23 My relationship to people who come for counselling help is suffering due to my negative attitudes. Disagree Strongly disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree Strongly agree Agree 24 I often feel angry when I hear about what the person who is seeking counselling has done. Disagree Strongly disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agreeAgreeStrongly agree Mildly agreeAgreeStrongly agree 25 I feel physically fit and have lots of energy. Strongly disagree Disagree 1 Mildly disagree Uncertain 1 26 The people who come for counselling are forever grasping, self-centred and unappreciative of my efforts. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree Agree Looking after yourself Strongly agree CHAPTER 42 36327 Counselling gives me a lift in life and inspires me to move forwards. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree Agree Strongly agree I haven’t enough energy left for my family and fid ends. Counselling takes too much of me. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree AgreeStrongly agree AgreeStrongly agree 29 I feel worn out by the people to come to see me. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree 30 I can’t let off steam in my counselling workplace. I’ve got to be calm, patient and caring all of the time. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree AgreeStrongly agree AgreeStrongly agree 31 I feel enthusiastic about the value of counselling. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree 32 I often get caught up in the emotional feelings of the person seeking help and feel upset or angry myself. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree AgreeStrongly agree AgreeStrongly agree 33 I often wish that person seeking help would just go away. Strongly disagree 364 PART 7 Disagree Professional, issues Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree34 I know what my supervisor thinks of my performance as a counsellor. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree Agree Strongly agree 35 The agency I work for really cares about me and my work is appreciated. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree Agree Strongly agree 36 I get a hopeless feeling. Nobody can fix up all the problems are there. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree AgreeStrongly agree AgreeStrongly agree 37 I hardly ever give an automatic type of response. Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain Mildly agree 38 Counselling has given me the satisfaction that I originally expected to get from it. Strongly disagreeDisagree 1I UncertainMildly agreeAgreeStrongly agree Mildly disagreeUncertainMildly agreeAgreeStrongly agree Mildly disagreeUncertainMildly agreeAgreeStrongly agree Mildly disagree 39 I feel irritable quite often. Strongly disagreeDisagree 11 40 I rarely feel uptight. Strongly disagree Disagree
Instructions for scoring the burnout inventory Each item on the burnout inventory receives a score from 1 to 7. The following item numbers are scored in the same way 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 13, 18, 21, 22, 25, 27, 31, 34, 35, 37, 38, and 40. These items score as follows: Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Agree Mildly agree Uncertain Strongly agree 3 Items 2, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 36, and 39 are scored in the following way: Strongly disagree Disagree Mildly disagree Uncertain I Agree Mildly agree 1 Strongly agree 1 5 We suggest that you write the score for each item on the right-hand side of the page against that item. In order to obtain your total burnout score, add together the scores for all items. Use the key below to interpret your result and then consider whether you think that this assessment of your burnout level accurately fits with your own belief about your level of burnout. You are the best judge and need to trust your own inner feelings. Key
ScoreSuggested interpretation 40-80You are a fully functioning counsellor 81-120You're doing well 121-200Why not give yourself more caring? Remind yourself that you are loveable and capable1 201-280With a score in this range we suggest that you might want to see your professional supervisor and decide what action to take so that you feel more comfortable.
In the early chapters of this book, heavy emphasis was put oil establishing an empathic relationship, and on the need to join with the person seeking help. It is essential that, as a counsellor, you learn to do this effectively, because empathy is one of the essential ingredients of successful counselling. However, being empathic can be hazardous to a counsellor’s health! That is, unless proper precautions are taken. People who seek help are often in a highly emotional state, and if a counsellor listens with empathy and joins with an emotional person, then the counsellor is likely to be infected by their emotional state. Emotions, like viruses, are catching, which is probably why people who aren’t counsellors try to calm their friends down when they are emotional. After all, who wants to be emotionally distressed? In contrast to most friends, many counsellors encourage people to experience and express their emotions fully. Empathic counsellors are certain to experience, at some level, emotions similar to those of the people they aim to help. Clearly, no counsellor can afford to be emotionally distressed for a significant part of the working day, because to allow this to happen would be certain to result in burnout. Counsellors who are working mainly with emotionally disturbed people are therefore very much at risk and need to take special precautions to avoid burnout.
Emotions can be infectious!
PROTECTING YOURSELF With experience, you will learn how to walk beside a person with empathy and also how to protect yourself from the excesses of emotional pain by at times moving back for a while, grounding yourself, and then joining more fully with them again. Certainly, if you are to protect yourself from burnout, you will need to learn how to do this. David will describe the technique he uses for himself, and then you will need to experiment for yourself, to find out what works best for you.
USING AN IMAGINARY SPACE-BUBBLE In a counselling session, when I notice that 1 am starting to excessively experience the emotional pain of the person seeking help, 1 will set about grounding myself. I his grounding process takes only a second or two to happen, but will take longer to describe. 1 imagine myself to be encapsulated by a plastic space-bubble that separates me from outside emotions, but enables me to observe them, and allows me to respond to them appropriately. I then slow down my breathing and relax my body, so that my troubled emotional state is replaced by a more peaceful state. In my imagination, 1 float, in the space-bubble, upwards and backwards to a position several metres behind and above my body. It is as though the part of me in the bubble is able to observe both the person seeking help and the physical me, which is still sitting in my counselling chair. 1 am still able to concentrate fully, but am more detached and less involved. In this position, 1 can make sensible decisions with regard to the counselling process. However, 1 can in a split second travel back in my imagination to my counselling chair, to give empathic attention and empathic responses to the person seeking help.
If you are becoming overwhelmed, move back to a more objective position
The imagination is a powerful thing, and 1 have trained myself to relax quickly, when necessary- You will need to experiment for yourself, to devise an effective way in which you can protect yourself from emotional damage due to exposure to excessive emotional pain. Despite the above discussion, there will inevitably be times when, as a counsellor, you are affected by the emotional traumas of the people who seek your help, as at times 1 am. Personally, 1 don’t think that it is helpful to let a person know that I have been emotionally affected by what they have told me. Most people are caring and do not like to upset others. Consequently, if a person thinks that I have been emotionally disturbed by what I have heard, then they may be less likely to tell me about other disturbing information. Counsellors therefore need to control the expression of their own emotions appropriately, so that the people who seek their help feel able to talk freely.
RECHARGING If you are left in an emotionally disturbed state after a counselling session, talk to your supervisor about your feelings as soon as possible. If your supervisor isn’t available you may need to talk with another counsellor. If another counsellor isn’t available, an alternative is to debrief by writing down your feelings and thoughts and allowing yourself to express your emotions in an appropriate way. Remember: the counselling relationship is substantially a one-way relationship, in which the counsellor is the giver and the person seeking help is the taker. Such a relationship will inevitably drain the counsellor of emotional energy. Unless a counsellor recharges, they will experience the symptoms of burnout as they become drained.
REFLECTIVE PRACTICE Another way to guard against burnout is to ensure you are continually reflecting on your work as a counsellor. Developing insight through reflective practice is helpful in identifying the early signs of burnout. Some questions to consider include: • How am 1 feeling generally? Am I tired or rundown? Have 1 been getting sick more often? • How do 1 feel about my counselling work? Do 1 feel overworked or overwhelmed? Do 1 feel like what I do matters? • How do 1 feel about my clients? Am I beginning to develop negative attitudes? • Do 1 think about my clients when Fm not at work? Are emotions from work beginning to impact on my personal life? While you can certainly reflect on these questions individually, it can also be very’ helpful to discuss them with your supervisor, as we suggested above. Seeking another perspective can be useful in increasing your insight into the development of burnout and identifying ways to address burnout. Those interested in learning more about reflective practice and how it applies to other areas of counselling may like to refer to the book on reflective practice edited by Stedmon and Dallos (2009).
OTHER FACTORS THAT LEAD TO BURNOUT OVER-INVOLVEMENT It is sensible to be aware of the dangers of over-involvement with the people who seek your help and their issues. We all have different personalities and differing capabilities for coping with emotionally stressful situations. Some counsellors get over-involved with the people who seek their help and take their problems home with them, whereas other people are more philosophical and are less affected by their counselling work. A while ago, while working at a crisis counselling agency, David trained himself so that when he left his place of work, he would allow himself to think about material related to people who were seeking his help only until he reached a particular set of traffic lights. Once he had passed these lights, he gave himself the option of going back to work to think about his counselling work, or of thinking about other things and continuing his journey home. He invariably continued his journey.
SUICIDAL PEOPLE Experienced counsellors who offer help to suicidal or violent people have an extremely stressful time and are particularly prone to burnout. A counsellor who has a high case load of people who have suicidal thoughts or intentions has little option but to accept that, even with the use of properly accountable practices, eventually one of the people they are aiming to help may succeed in killing themselves. This knowledge creates anxiety in the counsellor and increases the likelihood of burnout. Remember that it is not appropriate to blame yourself for what you are unable to prevent. Protect yourself, as a new counsellor, by ensuring that such people are referred for appropriate professional help.
ISOLATION Being isolated and working alone puts a counsellor at increased risk of burnout, because of a lack of peer support during the working day. After all, if we are being drained of our energy, we need to be able to get some back by interacting with others who can meet with us in more equal two-way relationships. PERSONAL STRESS A stressful personal life is almost certain to make a counsellor more susceptible to burnout because of diminished emotional resources.
COMBATING BURNOUT As stated before, many counsellors are afraid to admit to themselves, let alone to other people, that they are starting to experience burnout symptoms, because they feel that it would be an admission of failure. This is understandable for many reasons. Firstly, most of us have learnt from childhood to appear to be strong enough to cope with our load, whatever that may be. This learning is based on a myth that human beings are inexhaustible, which is obviously not true. Secondly, new counsellors invariably start counselling with very’ high ideals and unrealistically high expectations of what they will be able to achieve.
HAVING REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS Our own experiences as counsellors lead us to believe that usually the outcomes of counselling interventions are helpful for the person seeking help. However, there are times when a person does not seem to be helped by the counselling process, and when this does happen it would be easy for us to become disillusioned. At times like this we remind ourselves of the need to look at the overall picture. Outcomes for people who seek counselling help are often different from what the counsellor would prefer, and it is therefore necessary to have realistic expectations in order to avoid disillusionment. The idealism of the new counsellor can easily be eroded and lead to later dissatisfaction if unrealistic expectations are not fulfilled.
Giving with no expectation of return, caring for people unconditionally and being dedicated to counselling work are all attitudes that are implicitly absorbed as part of many counsellor training programs. These attitudes conflict strongly with feelings that may be experienced during burnout. It is therefore not surprising that counsellors find it difficult to own burnout feelings.
ACCEPTING THAT BURNOUT IS NORMAL It is strongly recommended that counsellor training programs always include education for trainee counsellors about the inevitability of burnout occurring at times, even in the most dedicated counsellor. If counsellors realise that burnout feelings do occur in normal, competent, capable and caring counsellors, then they will be able to start accepting their own burnout feelings and to share those feelings with their peers and other professionals.
If we accept that burnout is inevitable we can deal with it appropriately
Burnout comes in cycles and it is helpful to expect these cycles to occur. It is healthy to say, ‘Ah-ha, Im starting to recognise some of the symptoms of burnout.’ By making that simple statement, a counsellor is able to admit truthfully what is happening and is then empowered to take the necessary action to deal with the problem. Most counsellors start their job with some feelings of nervousness, but very soon this is followed by enthusiasm and excitement. However, it doesn’t take long for other feelings to set in. 1'hese may be feelings of stagnation and apathy, or even of frustration and annovance. In other words, the counsellor’s initial enthusiasm and excitement will, from time to time, be replaced by feelings associated with burnout. In the same way, by using sensible burnout management techniques, the initial enthusiasm about counselling can be re-experienced.
ACTIVELY DEALING WITH BURNOUT Quite often people will look for a new job or resign as a result of burnout. That is one way of dealing with it, but it is not necessary to do that if you recognise the symptoms early enough and do something positive to deal with them. Experiencing burnout is not a disaster if it is recognised and dealt with effectively. For a counsellor, dealing with burnout can be compared to a car owner servicing a car. 1 he car needs to be serviced regularly or the car will not function well. Similarly, as a counsellor you need to take steps to continually look after your own needs. If you become aware of burnout feelings, take the appropriate action to recharge yourself, and to regain your enthusiasm and the excitement you experienced at the beginning of your counselling career. This can be done time and again, so you can work as a counsellor for a lifetime if you choose by recharging yourself and starting afresh from time to time. Here are some suggestions for dealing with burnout: 1 Recognise and own the symptoms. 2 Talk with someone about your feelings. 3 Re-schedule your work. 4 Cut down on your workload. 5 Take a holiday. 6 Use relaxation or meditation. 7 Use positive self-talk. 8 Lower your expectations of yourself, the people who seek your help, your colleagues and your employer. 9 Allow yourself to enjoy life and have a sense of humour. 10 Use thought-stopping to stop worrying about the people who seek your help when not at work. 11 Use your religious or other belief system for support. 12 Care for yourself as a person by doing some nice things for yourself. Consider some of these ideas. Firstly, it is interesting to note that simply admitting that you are experiencing burnout will affect your behaviour and enable you to cope better. Talking with your supervisor or someone else may also be helpful, as by doing this you may be able to clarify your options more easily with regard to suitable methods of intervention. It can be helpful to re-schedule your work so that you have a feeling of being in control. You may need to be assertive if your boss doesn't understand your need for a reduced workload. Reducing your workload may not be sufficient initially, and you may need to take a few days off, to have a holiday or to recuperate. Help yourself to feel more relaxed, more in control and fitter. Build into your lifestyle proper times for rest, recreation, exercise, lighthearted relief and relaxation. Doing relaxation exercises or meditating can be helpful. Use positive self-talk to replace negative self-statements and challenge the negative self-statements you make about others. This involves changing your expectations of yourself the people who seek your help and your peers.
Take action to lead a balanced life
A useful way to deal with burnout is to take a less serious view of life, to allow yourself to have a sense of humour and to be less intense in your work. Be carefree and have fun. Most importantly, do not take the problems of the people who seek your help home with you. If you do catch yourself doing this, practise thought stopping. The first step in thought-stopping is to recognise that you are thinking about the problems of the people who are seeking your help when you should be relaxing. Then recognise your choice, to continue thinking about these problems or to focus your attention on something in your present environment. This may involve doing something physical or it may involve concentrating on something specific such as listening to music. Focus all your energy and attention on the 'here and now’ to block out the intruding thoughts. Sometimes you may find that the intruding thoughts recur and catch yourself saying, Tf 1 don’t think about this problem now, then 1 will never deal with it and that will be bad for the person who is seeking my help’. If such a thought comes into your mind, write a note in your diary to deal with that issue at a particular time when you are at your place of work, and say to yourself, ‘OK, at 10 o’clock tomorrow morning, at work, 1 will devote half an hour to thinking about that problem, but right now 1 will get on with doing and thinking about things that are pleasant for me.’ Some counsellors find strength in their religious beliefs and gain through prayer and meditation. They find that by doing this they receive an inner strength that enables them to be more effective in their work. Similarly, counsellors with other philosophical belief systems can use their philosophy of life as an aid in combating burnout. If you care for yourself, and take appropriate action to attend to your own needs by leading a less pressured and more balanced life, then your burnout symptoms are likely to fade and you will be able to regain your energy and enthusiasm. However, if you are like most counsellors, you will have an ongoing struggle with burnout which will come and go. T here will always be times when you will give too much of yourself, and then need to redress the balance so that your own needs for recharging are adequately met. GAINING SATISFACTION FROM COUNSELLING If you are proactive in caring for yourself, you will be more able to care for others. You will be likely to get satisfaction from counselling and to enjoy being a counsellor. We hope that you, the reader, will gain as much personal fulfilment from counselling as we have. We wish you all the best tor your work.
Learning summary Counselling can be emotionally draining for the counsellor. Regular supervision is a good way to avoid burnout as it provides an opportunity for resolution of the counsellor's own issues. Burnout includes the following symptoms: feelings of disillusionment, being emotionally and physically drained, somatic symptoms, and negative attitudes to people seeking counselling help. Burnout comes in cycles, but with self-awareness, reflective practice and adequate supervision recharging can occur. Methods for dealing with burnout include: » recognising the symptoms and talking with someone about them » changing your workload or schedule » taking a break » using relaxation, meditation or positive self-talk » lowering your expectations » taking Life less seriously and having a sense of humour » using thought-stopping » using your religious or other belief system for support. Further reading Skovholt, T,M. & '[’rotter-Mathison, M. 2011, Hie Resilient Practitioner Burnout Prevention and Self-care Strategies for Counsellors, Therapists, Teachers and Plea!th Professionals, 2nd edn, Taylor and Francis Group, New York. S ted mo n, J - &' 1a 11 o s, R. (e ds) 2009, Reflectire Practice in Psychotherapy and Counselling, Open University Press, Berkshire. Wicks, KJ. 2008, The Resilient Clinician, Oxford University Press, New York.