Counselling & psychotherapy for Helping professionals | Bendigo & Online
Burnout, vicarious trauma and other psychosocial hazards are recognised occupational risks in helping professions. Yet, people who provide peer and professional support to others also experience grief, loss, trauma, anxiety and depression. Being trained in helping others does not exempt us from these issues. The psychotherapy I offer is about exploring what you are thinking and feeling, including what may be implicit or difficult to put into words.
Therapy for Burnout, Vicarious Trauma & Work Stress
What you might bring to therapy
The psychotherapy I offer is about exploring what you are thinking and feeling (also what is implicit). I know this can take time and sometimes a longer period to build trust. Some of the issues people eventually bring to therapy are the ones that are hard to speak about elsewhere, at work, in your personal relationships and even in your own mind. Therapy beyond symptom management has potential to enable us to communicate more freely outside of therapy. On the topic of symptoms, note that the following is also a list of symptoms—I am not reflecting on how they have come about; that is a very individual therapeutic endeavour to work out:
Vicarious trauma: Secondary trauma from feeling the impact of hearing about/witnessing other people’s trauma.
Not switching off: Recognising there is no balance between work and personal life and that you can’t or feel you shouldn’t go home when work is over.
Leaving your profession: At a point where you wonder if you need to leave the career you trained in.
Work conflict: Experiencing conflict at work that feels stressful and hard to deal with.
Overworking: Stretching beyond your capacity, taking on extra work when clients are in distress or colleagues are stressed and taking one for the team, even though you don’t have the surplus.
Loss of meaning: Loss of joy from work you used to feel energised by and a lack of meaning and purpose in your role.
Identity: Not really knowing who you are if you are not feeling you live up to the helper persona. For some, this can also concurrently be happening in their personal life.
Work’s effect on home life: The impact of feeling emotionally or physically drained coming home to partners and family members.
Home life’s effect on work: Having dependents, caring for family members, and going through different life crises at home can also impact work and how we feel we should be showing up, for some, resulting in guilt.
Further reading & resources
I have written reflections on therapy and helping professionals. If you come to consult with me (or are working with me now), feel free to bring up questions or feelings about these:
If you are a helping professional—how do you choose a therapist for your own therapy? Choosing a therapist when you are a counsellor, psychologist, social worker or other helping professional can raise different questions from those faced by someone seeking therapy for the first time.
Do helping professionals need their own therapy?
Yes, as helpers, I believe we do need therapy sometimes. Regardless of our academic studies and professional training, our feelings are stirred in professional and personal relationships, just like anyone else’s.What are my options and rights regarding psychosocial hazards in the workplace?
Trauma, crisis and high emotional demand can become normalised in helping professions. This article considers workplace support, psychosocial hazards and when support beyond supervision or debriefing may be needed.Occupational burnout and the pressure of time: how can therapy help?
When time and resources are scarce, helping professionals can find themselves questioning how to continue doing work they care deeply about while managing its impact on their own lives.
Whether you’d like a call back for a brief talk or have a specific question, feel free to get in touch.
There is no charge for a brief initial conversation.
No need to share sensitive information by form, if we decide to meet in person or via telehealth, I set aside the first three sessions to understand more about what you’re going through.
You can read more about me and how I work before you reach out.
Warmly
Frederikke
E: frederikke@throughlinecounselling.com
M: 0427 043 171