Why Therapists Burn Out & How to Protect Yourself

Being a therapist is badass. We are depicted as cardigan-wearing, somewhat nerdy, mild-mannered intellectuals or touchy-feely, overly sensitive, preschool teacher-esque guides for people. The reality of our jobs is far grittier and messier than people expect. We choose to go into the storms with people. We have to stay grounded and help them find the way out. We not only do it everyday, we do it for decades. Is it any wonder we burn out? Ours is sacred work and it puts us at risk for compassion fatigue, burnout and secondary traumatic stress.  In this episode, I talk with Vicarious Trauma Expert Dr. Jenny Hughes about what is so hard about our jobs and what research tells us we need to protect ourselves.