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Carers Mental Health: counselling for healthcare workers, allied health professionals and professional caregivers in South Surrey, BC
Health Care Professionals
& Professional Helpers
Providing care to those who care others for a living
CARE FOR YOURSELF
ADDRESS WORK STRESSORS
"You have two hands: one to help yourself, the second to help others"
- Audrey Hepburn-
Being in a helping profession can be an incredibly rewarding - and incredibly challenging - experience. Considering the quote above, you are likely no stranger to offering a hand, without question, to help others. Given the nature of your role, perhaps the greater difficulty is ensuring the other hand is free to help yourself!
If you're struggling to keep "the balance," retain hope, feel effective, and have the energy for all the parts of your life, you are in good company. Both internal and external factors can contribute to a disequilibrium that can throw even the most capable care providers off balance.
Symptoms of compassion fatigue, stress, vicarious trauma, and burnout don't mean you haven't got what it takes to do your job.
What you are up against is hard... yet can feel more doable with support. Seeking mental health support for healthcare workers, caregivers, and helping professionals is not a sign of weakness, but one of the most important things you can do for yourself and for those who depend on you.
WHO MIGHT BE
AT RISK?
While not an exhaustive list, below are some professions that may be at greater risk of mental, emotional, physical and spiritual challenges related to care provider roles:
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doctors and nurses
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first responders
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social workers and allied health therapists
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care-home professionals
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teachers
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daycare or ECE's
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journalists
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lawyers
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positions requiring a great deal of time tending to the care needs of others, or exposed to others' pain, trauma, diverse needs, or suffering
COMMON CHALLENGES
FACED BY HELPERS:
If it is your job to deliver care to others on a regular basis, you may find yourself faced with the following challenges, experiences, or symptoms:
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Sleep and appetite disturbances; fatigue, exhaustion: Shift or on-call work, long hours, high demands and stress can all contribute to changes in sleep and appetite that can become problematic over time.
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Anxiety and/or depression: Exposure to emotionally taxing situations paired with inadequate support, can take a toll. You may find yourself moving between feeling chronically on alert, to periods of ongoing low mood.
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Moral injury and ethical dilemmas: If you've been involved in events, acts (or failures to act) that contradict your moral beliefs, you may experience distress impacting your psychological, social, and existential well-being.
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Trauma or vicarious trauma: Being front-line to difficult or life-threatening situations can result in emotional trauma. Carers who are indirectly exposed to traumatic material (i.e. others' stories), can also experience trauma, resulting in a change in their worldview and sense of safety.
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Compassion fatigue: Taxed with ongoing duty to care and empathize, with little reprieve or opportunities to rejuvenate can result in profound emotional and physical fatigue, impacting our capacity to provide empathy.
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Relationship challenges and boundary-setting concerns: Striking work-life balance can be difficult, affecting relationships at home, work, and the relationship with oneself.
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Existential questioning and feeling inadequate: Sometimes helpers will question their own efficacy and ability to make an impact, affecting their sense of purpose. For others, being filled with self-doubt or feeling like an "imposter" can send helpers spinning with questions around being "the right person" for the job.
Re-defining giving and receiving
While it is wonderful to envision one of our hands helping others and one helping ourselves, this doesn't always take into account that there are simply times where you may feel you don't have more to give - even to yourself!
Sometimes we need a community circle of care - wherein our hands outstretched hands both give and receive to and from others. Where giving and receiving moves beyond our individual selves, to a larger system. In a community of care, no hand is ever left disconnected or unsupported.
"I like to say that there are only four kinds of people in the world. Those who have been caregivers. Those who are currently caregivers. Those who will be caregivers and those who will need caregivers"
- Rosalyn Carter-
How Mental Health Support for Healthcare Workers Can Help
Here are just a few of the ways therapy can help frontline workers, emergency personnel and other healthcare professionals who care for others:
01
Get back to your baselines
03
Process trauma and its impact
05
Grow your support system
02
Treat anxiety and depression
04
Promote healthy boundaries
06
Develop sustainable self-care
Working With a Therapist for Healthcare Workers and Helping Professionals
Finding a therapist who truly understands the demands of a caregiving or helping role can make all the difference. Leanne Fessler is a Registered Clinical Counsellor based in South Surrey, BC, with experience supporting healthcare workers, allied health professionals, and others in high-demand caring roles. She offers in-person sessions in White Rock/South Surrey and virtual counselling across British Columbia.
Maybe it's time to put you first.
If you're feeling as though your well has run dry - it may be time to be on the receiving end of care. Find out what support can look like for you - fill out the contact form below or book your complimentary 15 minute consultation.