Therapy for Therapists and Other Helping Professionals
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping’. To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers ― so many caring people in this world.” – Fred Rodgers
But when the smoke has cleared, who helps the helpers?
Who is Considered a Helping Professional?
A helping professional is someone who works in a profession that is focused on helping others. It is often their job to put their self aside and help others improve their well-being and futures. Their jobs requires helping professionals to manage a significant cognitive, mental, and emotional load as part of their work.
This can include a wide range of professions, such as:
- Mental Health Professionals: Mental health professionals are trained to diagnose and treat mental health conditions. These professionals can include psychologists, psychiatrists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed clinical mental health counselors, and licensed marriage and family therapists.
- Healthcare Professionals: Healthcare professionals are trained to provide diagnose and treat physical illnesses, diseases, and other medical conditions. These professionals can include doctors, nurses, nurse practitioner, physician assistants, physical therapists, etc.
- Educators: Educators work in a variety of settings, including schools and universities, and are focused on teaching and helping students to learn and develop. These professionals can include teachers, professors, administrators, and support staff.
- First Responders: First responders are professionals who are trained to provide emergency medical services. These professionals can include firefighters, paramedics, and police officers.
And many more professions where caring for others is an essential part of the job description!
Helping professionals often work in high-stress environments where they are exposed to significant stress, trauma, illness, and death on a regular basis. As a result, they may experience compassion fatigue, burnout, and other mental health issues that can affect their ability to provide effective care to their patients or clients.
Therapy can be particularly beneficial for helping professionals as it is essential that they take care of themselves and manage their workload effectively to avoid burnout and provide the best possible care to their clients or patients. Therapy can provide a safe and confidential space for helping professionals to explore and process their emotions, thoughts, and experiences.
Therapy for Therapists and Other Helping Professionals Can be Beneficial in Several Ways:
- Personal Growth: Therapy can help helping professionals develop self-awareness and gain insight into their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, which can help them to identify areas for personal and professional growth, and work towards developing greater empathy and understanding for their clients.
- Professional Development: As the saying goes, “the best therapists have a therapist”. Therapy can be a valuable tool for professional development. By experiencing therapy themselves, therapists can better understand the therapeutic process, improve their counseling skills, and gain a deeper understanding of the impact of mental health issues on their clients.
- Coping with Stress: Working as a therapist or other helping professional can be emotionally taxing, and it is important for therapists to manage their own stress, anxiety, and other emotions that may arise in their work in order to provide effective care for their clients. Therapy can provide a safe and supportive environment for therapists to process their own stress and emotions.
- Burnout Prevention: Burnout is a common issue for therapists and other helping professionals, and therapy can be an effective way to prevent burnout. Burnout can occur when they are emotionally exhausted and feel a sense of detachment from their work. By prioritizing their own mental health and seeking support when needed, therapists can continue to provide quality care to their clients without experiencing burnout.
- Compassion Fatigue and Vicarious Trauma: Therapy can help helping professionals recognize and address symptoms of compassion fatigue and vicarious, which can occur when they are exposed to trauma and suffering on a regular basis.
- Improving Communication: Therapy can help helping professionals improve their communication skills, which can enhance their ability to connect with and provide effective care to their patients or clients.
Therapy can be an invaluable tool for therapist and other helping professionals to manage their own mental health and well-being, which in turn can enhance their ability to provide effective care to their patients or clients. By seeking support, therapists and other helping professionals can develop the skills and resilience they need to thrive in their work.
How Can I Help?
I’ve been in practice for over a decade. During this time, I’ve had the honor to work with a diverse community of amazing clients and individuals, many of whom are fellow helping professionals. They come from local hospitals, schools, agencies, private practices, and other settings in hopes to address concerns such as chronic work-related stress, traumas, burnout, compassion fatigue, and impacts on their important relationships. We work towards building healthier work-life balance and satisfaction.
I’ve received additional formal learning and trainings to assist in exploring provider risk and resiliency factors related to trauma, burnout and compassion fatigue. With fellow helping professionals, I use a gentle, humanistic, and down-to-earth approach, along with evidenced-based, trauma-informed models, to balance the art and science of therapy in the therapy room. I help fellow providers explore self, bolster resiliency skills, and gain insights and awareness to how we are nourishing ourselves so that we can provide the compassionate care our clients deserve.
I’ve also presented at local trainings for NC Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, various agencies, and other community stakeholders for mental health and wellness on a variety of topics, such as Healing Hope in the Therapist, Provider Risks and Resilience, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and Vicarious Trauma and Self Care. I’ve co-hosted a local peer consult/support group with interdisciplinary mental health providers to build natural supports within the community.
Call today for a free 15-minute phone consultation to see if I might be a good fit to help support you in your helping profession.
TOWERS COUNSELING SERVICES | 120 GREENWICH ROAD CHARLOTTE, NC 28211
PH: 980-349-8119
Towers Counseling Services 