Topics 3 & 4: Self-Care & Professional Development {6/26}
Based on the readings due this week consider the following discussion points: (1) What are some of your concerns for self-care/burnout when it comes to working with clients – What might/does get you stressed? (2) Do you have any effective ways to deal with such stress? (3) Your professional development and personal growth does not end once you graduate. What are your thoughts about the best way you can assure that you are continually developing and maintaining your counseling competency?
Your original post should be posted by the beginning of class 6/26. Post your two replies no later than 6/28. *Please remember to click the “reply” button when posting a reply. This makes it easier for the reader to follow the blog postings.
Dr. Adam M Volungis 
Jun 24, 2025 @ 12:32:41
Some of my concerns for self-care and burnout when working in this field include the stress that accompanies working with clients who are very disadvantaged and have many external factors that contribute to their presenting problems and exacerbate their mental health struggles (i.e., lack of stable housing, limited transportation, low income, etc.). Many of these factors contribute to how often a person is able to attend their sessions and work on their goals outside of sessions, and I have found that many of the clients I’ve worked with who struggle with similar obstacles have a more difficult time engaging in therapy. In some cases during my internship, I was instructed to complete discharge summaries and close cases for those who had consistently missed their sessions, since my company’s policy was to close the case of any client who had missed three consecutive sessions without appropriate cancellation. This was incredibly disheartening to do, especially since so many of these clients would benefit from having the consistency of therapy in their lives and could be capable of achieving favorable outcomes if policies were more flexible and accommodating. It was difficult to resist the feeling that I was essentially “giving up” on my clients when I had to close their cases, which increased some of my stress. Some ways that I have found to be effective for managing this stress is reminding myself that the therapeutic relationship should be a reciprocal and collaborative alliance between client and therapist and that I did all I could by constantly showing up for my clients and fulfilling my role in the relationship. Engaging in distracting activities was also helpful in focusing on something more pleasant when my emotions got the better of me, such as reading, journaling about the experience, or listening to music.
Continuing to develop and maintain competency post graduation and licensure has been on my mind since I began my studies. I am planning to take advantage of the supervision I receive during my career, even after I become licensed and it’s no longer a requirement. In addition to the CEUs I will need to complete once I become licensed, I also plan on completing various trainings and workshops to become more knowledgeable about and experienced in other therapeutic modalities such as DBT, group therapy, play therapy with children, ARC, and whatever else I decide to pursue as I begin working with a diverse group of clients. I personally find it very important to keep up to date with research and any new developments that arise for different treatments as time goes on so that I am always at least fairly familiar with these findings.
Jun 24, 2025 @ 21:16:05
Hi Linsey,
Thank you for sharing your thoughtful reflection. I appreciate your awareness of how systemic barriers can impact the engagement and outcomes of disadvantaged clients. I agree that it is challenging to navigate the tension between agency policies and the desire to provide compassionate care, particularly when you know that your clients’ absences are rooted in situations beyond their control. The way you chose to reframe these challenges by focusing on your presence and commitment to the therapeutic relationship is compelling in combating burnout. I also appreciate the techniques you have found helpful in dealing with stress, such as journaling, reading books, and listening to music. I believe they are effective ways to help us in emotionally heavy periods. It is very inspiring that you have a long-term plan for ongoing learning and professional development to maintain your competence!
Jun 24, 2025 @ 14:38:03
Discussion for 6/26
I suppose when it comes to my concerns regarding burnout, I haven’t really thought too much about it until now. During my internship, I honestly found working with clients to be a breath of fresh air compared to the residential work I typically do. At Devereux I have faced burn out head on many times often as a result of physical interventions and consistent behaviors, which is a very different type of work than an office setting. I think what I worry about the most is becoming burnt out by paperwork and progress notes; I am a very active worker and being bound to a desk for several hours sounds like it would get old fast, I will need to find a positive way to balance my paperwork with other components of my career moving forward, otherwise I can see myself becoming bored and disinterested very quickly.
To deal with that type of burn out, I believe that setting structured paperwork time daily will be beneficial to preventing the work from piling up. I think that if thirty minutes a day or so are carved out for progress notes, then I will be able to find ways to be active and get my energy out in a proper way. I also think that supplying myself with fidgets, coloring pages, and other hands-on crafts to use in any down time will be helpful in keeping my mind stimulated. I am sure that other types of stress and burn out will arise as I further my career in this field, but until that occurs I cannot foresee any issues on my own.
In order to maintain my clinical competency, it will be important to engage in continued education training pertaining to various treatment approaches. This is not to say that I want to become an expert in all treatments, but rather become comfortable enough with each that I could do foundation level work if a client should benefit from that. I also think that attending training put in place wherever I work will be important in keeping compliant with company policies as well as any ethical considerations that may arise. Keeping up on relevant research will also be important in building my competency as a therapist, to understand what theories are being developed or changed and how that may contribute to a certain population’s treatment will guide me in completing this.
Jun 24, 2025 @ 21:35:10
Thank you for sharing your thoughtful post. I like your idea of incorporating crafts, fidgets, and hands-on activities during downtime. It is very creative and speaks to your strengths as an active worker. Amazingly, you know what helps you stay engaged. Also, your commitment to ongoing learning and clinical growth is great. Your willingness to grow is a mark of a client-centered clinician. I also agree that staying up to date with agency training and research will not only build your competence but also keep your work more dynamic and fruitful in helping people who need your help!
Jun 24, 2025 @ 21:35:50
Hi Page,
Thank you for sharing your thoughtful post. I like your idea of incorporating crafts, fidgets, and hands-on activities during downtime. It is very creative and speaks to your strengths as an active worker. Amazingly, you know what helps you stay engaged. Also, your commitment to ongoing learning and clinical growth is great. Your willingness to grow is a mark of a client-centered clinician. I also agree that staying up to date with agency training and research will not only build your competence but also keep your work more dynamic and fruitful in helping people who need your help!
Jun 29, 2025 @ 21:31:03
Hi Paige,
I think you made such a great point to schedule in time for paperwork. I feel like the paperwork is a very important part of the job to ensure we are documenting things appropriately, but it can also be a draining process for the focus and concentration it requires, especially after a day of back to back clients. I think your suggestion to have designated times in the schedule for paperwork will help to anticipate and do some housekeeping for notes and other loose ends.
Jun 24, 2025 @ 20:51:54
Working with clients, especially in an emotionally demanding role as a mental health counselor, can lead to burnout if self-care is not maintained. Many clients come to therapy, not because of their motivation to seek help; instead, they are required to go because of DCF involvement, court demands, etc., leading them not to want to share their emotional and psychological difficulties. The clients’ non-cooperation and mental health denials may make me feel stuck, and I need to find effective ways to make them trust, build rapport, disclose their information, and cooperate in therapy. Additionally, high caseloads or time pressure can also contribute to burnout. This is because of tight schedules and working with so many clients, especially constant exposure to their distress, leading to emotional drain and having little room to process and care for me.
To deal with such stress, seeking help from my supervisor and/or peer support could help me gain a different perspective on helping those with whom I find it difficult to work. Moreover, emotionally detaching after sessions is crucial because it enables us to establish a clear boundary between work time and personal time. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a priority, which includes regular exercise, healthy meals, adequate sleep, meditation, and spending time with family and friends. These significantly impact how I deal with stress from working with clients.
To continually develop and maintain counseling competency, I believe ongoing education, attending workshops, participating in training, and joining conferences are critical because they help me to stay current with evolving best practices and research. I also believe that ongoing reflection and self-awareness about what I did well and what I need to improve will assist me in developing my counseling competencies. Last but not least, having supervision will help to check blind spots and navigate complex cases.
Jun 26, 2025 @ 13:57:14
Hi Han,
I’m glad that you mentioned feeling “stuck” with some clients who are court-mandated to attend therapy and are often hesitant to appropriately engage in sessions. This is the same feeling that I was describing in my own response that I found challenging to navigate during my internship. I found it to be very helpful during supervision to voice these concerns and gain support in some of the areas that cannot quite be replicated/covered in an academic or classroom setting.
Jun 25, 2025 @ 00:00:03
Jun 25, 2025 @ 21:11:07
Hi Melanie,
It sounds like you had an intense and very rewarding experience at your internship placement. You bring up a great point about lack of client progress potentially leading to burnout. It can be discouraging on our end when clients don’t make the expected progress that we had hoped for. Additionally, working with clients who need higher levels of care and need stabilization can be very mentally draining. Consistency with self-care can be difficult, especially when there are a lot of aspects to balance, but you bring up a good point that it’s about getting into the habit of making time for yourself and managing time. I agree that increasing the caseload seems overwhelming. Regarding professional development, you bring up a great point on how media, specifically podcasts, can be used to keep up to date with research and gaining knowledge.
Jun 26, 2025 @ 10:44:53
Hi Melanie,
I really liked your comment on how you are looking forward to spending more time engaging in things you love to do! I think it is so common to feel guilty to do certain self-care activities when we have so much work to do, so now that you are almost done with school, I am confident you will be successful in having that perfect work-life balance. I also love that you connect so heavily with your faith, this is something that is so special and I am glad you find a sense of peace and self-care leaning on faith during times of stress/burnout. Great job!
Jun 29, 2025 @ 02:43:36
Hey Melanie,
I hear you on feeling guilty at times when it comes to seeing friends/family when life gets busy and there is work to be done. I also like to keep in mind that the work never ends. There was work long before we were born, and long after we’re gone there will still be work that needs to get done – so its on us to take the time that’s necessary to step back and focus on all those other aspects of our life that matter. For me, reminding myself of how precious our time is, and how much my friends and family matter to me, grounds me in being able to savor those moments and not worry about work that needs to get done. It’s important that we practice what we preach, and in many ways setting those boundaries that allow us to spend time with friends and family, to stay connected with our faith, and to keep our bodies active and healthy, inherently make us more well-rounded clinicians and help us grow.
Jun 25, 2025 @ 14:35:34
What stresses me out / burnout concerns
I think that emotional fatigue is going to be one of my biggest concerns. I have noticed that I tend to carry a lot, especially when clients are dealing with trauma, crisis, or things like poverty, racism, and other generational cycles. I noticed at times I will put pressure on myself to help them more if I am not seeing progress. But I need to understand there are some things out of my control and even though I know this when I feel like I am not helping it sticks with me. I think being a parent also makes it harder to disconnect sometimes. I noticed when something hits close to me it will linger with me a little bit longer.
How I handle the stress
For me, spending time with my son helps a lot because I can just focus on him. Also, working out and martial arts helps me a lot. It is like a mental reset for me. I also talk things out with other clinicians, especially in supervision, helps me not get into self blame when things begin to get heavy. I need to also remind myself that it’s okay to care deeply without taking everything home with me. Things like music, hikes and relaxing watching a movie also help me when stressed.
Growth after graduation
I want to stay in learning mode. I plan to attend training. I am interested in sleep and how that affects mental health so I know I will seek training on that. I would like to also participate in doing some research as an assistant at some point as well. There are a few topics I am really interested in and would like to research when I get the chance. I also want to keep up in areas of cultural competence and trauma work. Not just academic but applied, grounded and client-centered. I also think having my own therapist or mentor down the road will help keep me honest and prevent blind spots. Then maybe someday when I have experience I can help mentor new clinicians as well.
Jun 25, 2025 @ 21:24:45
Hi Billy,
I’m also concerned about emotional fatigue. It can be a lot to carry what your clients are dealing with. As much as it’s important to compartmentalize, our work inherently has us temporarily carrying the issues that our clients bear/deal with. Emotional fatigue can also be exacerbated when there are issues that our clients are facing that we cannot help them with, as well as when our clients aren’t progressing at the pace we had originally expected. You bring up a good point about possible trainings that could be available to us that will help us maintain clinical competency. Additionally, having a therapist can be helpful both for self care as well as for self-reflection and continuing to learn. Helping conduct studies as well as attending conferences can be helpful in keeping up to date with recent research.
Jun 28, 2025 @ 17:45:14
Hi Billy!
We have similar thoughts about what we want to do for after graduation – being in learning mode. Even though I am not interested in doing research, I think understanding sleep and mental health are very important! It literally can affect so much! Something, I personally feel like I need to learn more about for myself haha. But I wrote in my response how I want to get into reading books and listening to podcasts regarding topics of mental health, since there is always room to grow. And I think finding sources like this would also be beneficial for the both of us!
Jun 29, 2025 @ 21:33:38
Hi Billy!
I completely relate to your point regarding taking on the heavier cases, or needing a place to check in and unpack when we are taking responsibility or having a hard time shaking a case. It can be really challenging holding space for these really heavy things going on if we do not allow ourselves outlets and safe places to reflect and assess what is in our control and what we can realistically do to help. Thanks for bringing that up!
Jun 25, 2025 @ 20:56:47
I am a bit concerned about burnout once I work full time. I know that my caseload will be a lot larger than it was during my internship, and I’m worried that that will lead to burnout. This also depends on the level of care these clients will need. Having a majority of clients who are considered high risk might increase the risk of burnout compared to working in an outpatient setting. I think it might be stressful adjusting to the documentation for the larger caseload as well. Making sure to keep up to date on all intake notes, treatment plans, and progress notes for a larger caseload seems overwhelming. An effective way to deal with this would be to focus on time management. If I can schedule/plan my time accordingly, then it will allow me to have time for other aspects of my life. Making sure to balance work with fun activities outside of work and spending time with friends and family will be really important for managing stress.
Regarding maintaining counseling competency, it will be really important to utilize supervision effectively. Going over both what went well and what I could’ve done differently will be helpful to make sure that sessions are progressing. Additionally, taking extra courses to continue learning will be helpful for keeping up to date with best practices. Attending conferences can also be important to maintain counseling competency as you can get up to date information on recent research.
Jun 26, 2025 @ 14:01:16
Hi Alyson,
You make a good point in recognizing how everything is going to be increased once we start working full-time (i.e., caseload, weekly hours, progress notes, treatment plans, etc.) and I’m sure that it will be overwhelming at first to adjust to the changes! I personally found it incredibly helpful to structure my time between sessions to complete notes and catch up on documentation, as well as always used client no-shows or cancellations as an opportunity to get ahead of the game with paperwork. I also ensured that I had at least 30 minutes per day to take some time for myself and decompress, especially on my busier days or after particularly heavy sessions.
Jun 28, 2025 @ 22:50:05
Hi Alyson,
I agree with you about the importance of supervision. This is an area of my internship that I learned a lot from and look forward to using in my new job as a place to express concerns and accomplishments.
Jun 25, 2025 @ 22:21:37
I guess one of my major concerns when it comes to self-care and burnout is that I am not very good at noticing when I become burnt out. Even during my internship, I did not take off any days until I planned to go home to visit my family for Christmas and when my boyfriend came to visit in March (I even struggled to take time off then because I felt guilty). I did not realize how burnt out I truly was until I was able to step away from work and be a real person for a few days. It is hard for me to cope with burn out if I do not even realize it is happening to me. So I guess a good first step would be acknowledging stressors that push me toward that point. Clients who are suicidal, who self-harm, and who have consistent chaos in their lives is quite stressful to me; however, these are also some of my favorite clients to work with because these are the types of clients I typically saw in my individual and group DBT sessions. I think finding a better balance and hobbies in my life are very needed. Recently, I was asked what I like to do for fun and I could not think about what my own hobbies were because I feel I have engaged in so few over the past two years. Identifying new hobbies is going to be essential for me moving forward. Some things that I already do to relieve stress are coloring and bullet journaling. Expressing myself creatively has been a really helpful outlet for me recently as it gives me time to reflect and channel my thoughts and emotions into something I find relaxing. Being around friends and family is also really helpful for me to manage stress because being around positive people makes me feel positive as well!
I think one of the most simple ways to maintain my counseling competency (outside of the mandatory CEUs) is peer consultation. Finding trusted colleagues who also have a passion for evidence-based practice who can help me gain insight on challenging cases and suggest interventions that may be helpful. I was involved in peer consultation with my DBT group at CHL and it was very helpful and made sure that I was providing treatment to my individual clients in fidelity to the model. I think it is also important for me to attend trainings for interventions that have strong research backings and be an active consumer of the most up-to-date research regrading best practices.
Jun 26, 2025 @ 10:38:26
Hi Taylor!
I want to validate your comment about how difficult it can be to notice that you are burnt out. I find this to be so understandable, especially since you are a busy woman! From constantly having assignments in school, having a job outside of your internship, having the internship, and then just having a personal life!!! All of these things can often cloud our acknowledgement of seeing how burnt out we may actually be. Personally, I feel as though you recognizing that you want to become more aware of the stressors that lead up to burnout is half the battle! You got this, great job!
Jun 26, 2025 @ 12:50:21
Hi Taylor,
Thank you for your insightful post, I can certainly relate! I think it can be incredibly challenging to notice when we are burning out in the moment as you indicated. I tend not to notice myself until I reach actual burnout and I am like “oh oops” haha. I am also working on being more mindful of my mental health needs and maintaining self-care to prevent future burnout.
Jun 28, 2025 @ 19:30:05
Hi Taylor,
I really relate to your post. The few sick days I took, I felt so guilty. Even though I knew I couldn’t provide quality care on those days, I felt really bad about leaving my clients in the lurch. Something that helped me feel better was knowing that my clients missed sessions too. I never judged them when they were out sick and I’m assuming they didn’t really judge me. I’ve also never been upset with any of my own healthcare providers when they’ve called out. Regardless, taking time is something I’m still working on.
I also really relate to what you said about high risk clients stressing you out but also being your favorite work. I’m in the same boat which has made deciding what setting I’d like to work in after graduating difficult. Something that I liked about CHL was that I had a few high risk clients but was able to make sure my caseload was somewhat balanced with not high risk clients.
Jun 26, 2025 @ 10:32:25
Some concerns I have regarding self-care/burnout when it comes to working with clients honestly revolves around DCF. At my internship cite/current job, we work with clients who often have DCF involvement. This is something that I have had to take extra time outside of work decompressing about because I am a big family person myself, so when I think about filing or the potential circumstances of families being spilt up, I often sacrifice my own self-care. In other words, this tends to have lingering effects of stress on me; however, I have learned to mentally “clock out” when I leave work for the day to prevent burnout and lack of self-care. I have also found meditation to be very effective in managing stress as well as spending time in nature (especially now that it is beautiful outside)! Some ways that I am thinking about continually developing and maintaining my counseling competency revolves around working with an agency that is up to date on their evidence-based practices as well as having opportunities to take continuing education courses and/or attend conferences. For example, Spectrum offers trainings on various areas within counseling and has deadlines for us to complete them by. This is something that I value in the workplace, as this truly does expand my knowledge on a variety of topics within our field as well as provides current evidence-based practices. Something else that may help maintain competency is collaborating with others both in the field and in the workplace. Having a supervisor to consult with has certainly helped increase my knowledge on many things as well as conversing with colleagues with different backgrounds have helped increase my knowledge and has assisted in maintaining competency. With that being said, communicating with others who may have more/different experiences, having trainings available, taking available courses, and having the opportunity to attend conferences are things that I will continue to prioritize to maintain my counseling competency.
Jun 26, 2025 @ 12:43:01
Hi Angela,
Thank you for your thoughtful post and calling attention this! You bring up a good point when thinking about DCF involvement/the stress involved and it made me think of how often our roles are much more complex than simply mental health counselor. When I was interning at CHL, I definitely felt multiplicities in my role and I think the complexities can add additional pressures. As you indicated, it is so important to create work-life balance/boundaries to ensure we are maintaining self-care.
Jun 29, 2025 @ 03:06:58
Hey Angela,
Savor these nice and warm (albeit too warm at times) summer days!! I’m happy to hear you’ve found effective ways to manage your stress, especially given the nature of the work and clients you interned and will be working with. Working with clients where DCF involvement is common is definitely tough. A quote that I like to keep in mind, especially when working with client’s who are in particularly difficult life circumstances, is “It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop.” To me it underscores the importance of the work we do in not only supporting our clients, but helping them navigate and perceive the adversity in their life in a more adaptive and healthy way. This doesn’t fix wrongs or unfortunate situations, but it allows me to focus on what I can do and make sure to leave all that is beyond my influence in the room.
Jun 26, 2025 @ 12:30:34
1) Some concerns I have for self-care/burnout when it comes to working with clients revolve mainly around work-life balance. I noticed during internship it was difficult to separate myself from the important work we do. When I would leave the office for the day or weekend, my mind would often wonder to my clients and it could be challenging to control my worries for them. What I have observed from my own experiences and peers as we take on our roles within the mental health field, we tend to feel the need to prioritize others before ourselves as we work with vulnerable populations. I think my passion can sometimes be a double-edged sword in this way since I will always strive to support my clients to the best of my ability (of course a good thing haha) but I can see how this pressure I tend put on myself can prevent necessary self-care and perpetuate disproportionate work-life balance/burnout.
2) Throughout the past year, I have worked to integrate more self-care opportunities to deal with stress. I have found working out and leisure reading to be especially beneficial. Although it sounds obvious, it is so important that we practice what we teach (e.g. restructuring our negative automatic thoughts, distress tolerance, grounding techniques, setting healthy boundaries, etc.). Treating/maintaining our own mental health is necessary to offer competent care for our clients and I think engaging in our own therapeutic treatment can also be helpful to deal with stressors that come up within or outside of our work.
3) As stated in the prompt, it is incredibly important for us to understand that our professional development and personal growth does not conclude upon graduating. When I think about the best ways to assure that I can continue developing/maintaining my counseling competency I think first and foremost, remaining curious to learn and humble is necessary. In these ways, we can acknowledge there is still much for us to learn and therefore it is critical to treat every experience as a learning opportunity. I think it will also be beneficial to challenge ourselves to seek opportunities to expand our knowledge. Whether this be through supervision, trainings within or outside of our workplaces, required CEUs, attending conferences, or continued education, we can push ourselves to remain up-to-date with current evidenced-based research/approaches.
Jun 29, 2025 @ 14:07:59
Hi Gigi! I resonate with what you said a lot. I have been through similar challenges with the balance between the work life balance. It’s not always easy to “turn off” the part of you that genuinely cares and I don’t think we’re supposed to completely. But I do think learning how to set healthy boundaries with ourselves is just as important as setting them with clients. I also really appreciated what you said about staying humble and curious. I think that mindset is foundational to doing this work well over time. Graduation isn’t a finish line, it’s more like the starting point of continuous learning. Supervision, peer consultation, trainings, even just staying in community with other clinicians who challenge you to think differently. All of that helps us stay sharp and aligned with best practices, and maybe even more importantly, stay grounded as human beings in this field.
Jun 26, 2025 @ 13:19:13
(1) I think my main concern currently is my lack of awareness regarding burnout in myself. Reading over the psychological, behavioral, and physical symptoms of burnout in the chapter made me realize that I probably was experiencing some kind of a burnout this past semester due to my workload and commute. Normally, I like to think of myself as someone who is very mindful, very demur. I try to pay attention to how I’m doing and prioritize my social engagements, personal time, and hobbies. However, sometimes things just need to get done and there is “nothing to it but to do it.” I fear that over prolonged periods of “things needing to get done,” my awareness to potential burnout decreases. I have found that “not doing work,” is not the same as effectively recharging and decompressing, but often gets confused as such. As I begin work at a new place, and focus on building up my skills, experience, and making a good impression, I may fall into that same trap of “things need to get done,” and neglect the mounting symptoms of burnout.
2) Looking back, I think my biggest take away that I can use to effectively mitigate this blind spot, is recognizing what a “good” mindset and balance between leisure and work can look like for me. Prolonged periods of limited social engagement and planning based on convenience and necessity, rather than leisurely interest and avocational pursuit are a good warning sign now. Taking time to regularly plan get-togethers, go out with friends, game, watch movies, etc., are good markers for me to know if I’m balancing work and life, or more accurately, responsibilities and fulfillment.
(3) Staying connected with classmates, professors, and colleagues is essentially to continually developing and maintaining my counseling competency. Getting first-hand recollections and/or recommendations on training is motivating for me and will help me in feeling more comfortable and engaged in seeking out training, workshops, and seminars. A good supervisor will also go a long way in encouraging continued education and training. I know I don’t know enough, and I have a sense that this might be a life-long feeling. I want to continue learning and growing, and I also know how complacency can sneak in if you let it. That’s why I think continued conversation and engagement with peers and professors surrounding learning can pave the way for a more innate and inherent pursuit towards continued counseling competency and development.
Jun 29, 2025 @ 14:17:10
Hi Dimitr. I really resonated with your reflection, especially the part about the part where you said “not doing work” doesn’t always equal true decompression or self-care. I have noticed this as well and I feel like I did not realize it until recently. Also, I completely agree with you about staying connected to peers and professors. It makes such a difference to feel part of a learning community not only for sharing resources or training opportunities, but also just for staying grounded and inspired. Like you, I know I still have so much to learn, and probably always will. But surrounding ourselves with people who are committed to growth can help that learning process feel less overwhelming and more like a shared journey.
Jun 26, 2025 @ 13:38:52
Jun 27, 2025 @ 12:34:44
Hi Ashleigh,
I agree with you that recognizing burnout can be difficult when we are so focused on our clients. I relate to the fact that it is hard to leave work in the office and not bring that home. I also plan to work with children, so I get what you mean about doing lots of outside work. Finding a strong work life balance is so important and I hope we both find a way to do so!
Jun 28, 2025 @ 22:52:20
Hi Ashleigh,
I also enjoy reading and cooking as ways to decompress! I believe it is important in this field to find ways to get our mind off of work, like you mentioned. I also value spending time with my friends and family, and agree that this is a great way to cope with life stressors.
Jun 29, 2025 @ 10:40:57
Hi Ashleigh,
I can only imagine how difficult it must be to balance the work-life schedule when working with children! I totally hear your point of it being difficult to manage all aspects of their lives because there are a lot more people involved in the care and treatment of a child than just the child themselves. I have also heard that a lot of therapists who see children have later nights because most families want the therapist to see their child after school gets out. I have no experience or interest working with children, but I can totally empathize with facing struggles as a result of working with your desired population!
Jun 29, 2025 @ 20:55:01
hey Ashleigh,
I totally agree that Working with kids adds even more to your plate—talking with parents, schools, and other professionals takes time and energy. It’s completely understandable that it’s hard to stop checking emails or fully unplug at the end of the day.
Jun 26, 2025 @ 13:45:46
My biggest concern with working full time is burnout. I know that many community health settings require very high caseloads and massive amounts of paperwork for each one. Intake forms, treatment plans, progress notes, assessments, collateral contact notes, etc. It felt like a huge chunk of my time at CHL was just doing paperwork. One of the other problems I had at CHL was that I often was playing the role of therapist and case manager. Our case managers were unreliable in their response times and often didn’t have the resources our clients needed. I spent a lot of my personal time researching resources for them only for them to not use the resources. I realized at that point in my internship that I was doing more work than some of my clients. It was burning me out and not helping them either.
Something that I’ve found gets me stressed is suicidality. Usually, I’m pretty good at leaving my work at work. With my suicidal clients, I find myself still worrying about them after hours. This concern started after I had a client who had denied any SI attempt suicide. Ever since, I’ve been really worried about missing something. Ultimately, I know that I’m not going to see everything and I only know what they say/show me. There’s nothing that I can really change here. I just need to continue creating a space where they feel comfortable sharing these concerns with me. I’ve found it really helpful to do some cognitive restructuring on myself when I’m feeling this way.
To deal with stress, I usually turn to art. I’m a musician so I’ve found that scheduling time for myself to play guitar or pick up gigs on the side has been really helpful. Since I started grad school, my hobbies and arts fell to the wayside. I found that I really needed to rekindle my passion during internship as just doing school and work was burning me out. Even now, I’ll often make excuses as to why I shouldn’t enjoy some free time. There’s always something that I need to be doing, so I actually write in leisure time in my schedule to make sure I adhere to it.
I think the two best ways to maintain counseling competency are peer support/supervision and keeping up to date on new literature. With the way the Internet is these days, there’s really no excuse to not stay current with the literature. There are ways to access articles for free and it’s not difficult to join online communities where people discuss research trends. However, I don’t think any online community can substitute having face to face discussions with peers. Many professionals lose their competency because they falsely believe their way is the right way. It’s important to have people around you who can broaden your perspectives.
Jun 29, 2025 @ 21:02:12
hi Meghan,
You’re absolutely right to be concerned. Community health settings often overload clinicians with high caseloads and endless paperwork intakes, treatment plans, progress notes it’s a lot. We are all in the same position and I know we will all learn how to deal with burnout
Jun 26, 2025 @ 14:24:52
Jun 26, 2025 @ 14:57:52
Hi Bella! I agree with your point that taking too much emotional responsibility with clients can be draining and lead to burnout. Maintaining healthy boundaries and work-life balance can help a lot with this!
Jun 29, 2025 @ 10:45:52
Hi Bella,
I totally agree with you! I also struggled with becoming too invested in my clients’ progress during my internship and would often think about my clients outside of session. It was getting to the point where my mom would notice I sounded different on the phone and it was because I was busy thinking about my clients. I found that time to reflect was important, not only in supervision, but at home too. Similar to scheduled worry time, I would allow myself like 15 minutes to think about my clients and then after those 15 minutes I was not “allowed” to think about them anymore. This was really hard for me and did not always work, but I think this strategy in combination with some much better self care would be a winning combo!
Jun 26, 2025 @ 14:29:36
I feel that with a much larger caseload than my internship, I will be more likely to experience burnout, especially depending on the presentation of my clients. Higher risk clients might lead to stress and it might be harder to maintain a work-life balance. Keeping self-care consistent and a priority in my life can help when I experience burnout in the future. I can also ensure that I am continuing to grow as a clinician through various trainings and through group and individual supervision. Having colleagues to consult with about troubling cases or when we need to chat can be helpful in continued growth.
Jun 28, 2025 @ 22:26:38
Hello Katie,
I enjoyed reading your post! Specifically, I appreciate how you discussed that having a higher caseload can lead to burn out as well as having higher risk clients. Keeping self care and having consistent supervision is a great way to support with minimizing burnout in this area but generally as well. It is ideal to have a supervisor who you can consult with these cases, but supervisors who will also encourage self care.
Keep up the great work!
Jun 26, 2025 @ 15:00:00
Emotional exhaustion is one of the most common challenges I face when it comes to self-care and burnout. Holding space for others’ pain—especially for clients who’ve experienced trauma—can be deeply draining. Over time, this can lead to compassion fatigue, which often goes unnoticed until it begins to affect both personal well-being. Other stressors include blurred boundaries, like feeling overly responsible for client outcomes, and the constant pressure of administrative tasks like keeping up with documentation. As well as, the lack of regular support or supervision can make things even more difficult.
To manage these challenges, I need consistent and intentional self-care. Regular supervision or talk with fellow peers, offers a safe space to reflect and process difficult experiences. Taking time off—whether for rest or vacation. Mindfulness, grounding exercises, and physical activities like yoga or walking can help ease emotional fatigue. Clear work-life boundaries—like disconnecting from work after hours—and engaging in creative or relaxing activities such as art, music, or even hanging out with friends. Continuing education through classes and trainings also supports both professional growth and personal resilience, helping me stay grounded and effective in my work
Jun 26, 2025 @ 15:03:13
06/26 Discussion
1). My current concerns for burnout involve the type of client that I currently work with and how they are usually individuals who have very high support needs and complex environmental factors that impact their ability to engage in treatment. Granted, I work at an agency that services young adults and families that are involved with DCF and usually are referred for stabilization, sometimes the work with these clients can feel very unpredictable and taxing. I have young adult clients that I work with who know my work hours and that I am not able to respond outside of work hours and have access to our on-call system, that still call and text me. Although I don’t respond until the next day, I can tend to get overwhelmed starting my day by reading messages that things have occurred that my clients now need support. This poses a challenge to my own work life balance and sense of differentiation between my “work self” and my “personal self” as I spend a great deal of time thinking about my clients, their treatment and everything in between.
2). To deal with this, I usually try to practice my own mindfulness and find ways to allow myself time and space for thoughts that are outside of my work. For example, I listen to comedy podcasts on my drives in between clients to keep my mind from racing about the next possible thing I will be handling with clients. I also try my best to keep my own life predictable, with routine and schedule for my own personal tasks. This is certainly hard though, with working full time and being in school, but connection with those closest to me is also something I find very helpful. I try my best to balance alone time with time spent with my loved ones and I have found that to be important to mitigating my own burnout.
3). My agency offers CEUs routinely which makes it feel much less daunting to ensure I am continuing to develop my competencies and skills. At times though, I do wish for more training and wonder what it would be like to experience training outside of my agency. One thing that I hope to do in the future is attend training series around some of the techniques that I have been introduced to (ie. ARC, DBT, ACT etc.) I hope to do this after I graduate to improve my own competencies and introduce myself to various theories and interventions.
Jun 28, 2025 @ 22:18:57
Hello Maura,
I enjoyed reading your post! Specifically, I appreciated the points you made regarding high risk and complex-presenting clients. I work a similar job as well where I often receive communication from my client’s families after hours. Maintaining boundaries as you said is key to ensuring balance between your personal and work live, especially where there is risk for blurred lines.
That is great that your company offers CEUs routinely! That is such an efficient way to support with getting CEUs once licensed. At the same time, it is great to seek out other opportunities as you mentioned talking about ARC and DBT.
Keep up the great work!
Jun 26, 2025 @ 17:05:20
Jun 28, 2025 @ 19:33:49
Hi Mariana,
I very much relate to what you said about taking the work home. It’s really hard to separate work life and personal life sometimes. We see these individuals every week and grow to really care for them. It’s hard to shut that off, especially with clients who are going through a particularly hard time. You make a good point about the change being up to the clients. Ultimately, we have to trust that we’ve done good work and hope they’re able to make the changes they need. There’s only so much we can do as we only see them for a short amount of time each week.
Jun 26, 2025 @ 21:08:39
Hello everyone, I hope all is well! ☺️
1-My biggest struggle with self care and burnout that I dealt with prior to internship was taking on too much as once. I maintained a full time job through my internship while taking classes which was quite stressful. Having a full time job while doing my internship helped me prioritize what was important to me with the little time I had left to do things that I enjoyed. At the same time, I did not feel as though I had enough time. As I transition to a clinical job and finishing school, my priority with self-care is knowing my limits and not taking on too much at once.
2-During my internship experience I was able to grow more in the stress management techniques I have used. My favorite self care activities include going to the gym, traveling with friends, or just being outside.
3-I can continue to develop competency in practice by doing things such as going to research conferences/symposiums and continuing education credits. I completed a year long research assistantship in undergrad where I was able to present some work at NEPA and I enjoyed the experience. I can definitely see myself attending these to stay current on research and issues going on in the field.
Jun 28, 2025 @ 16:35:31
Hi Rachel!
I understand what you mean by not having enough time. Sometimes we get too excited and think we can take on more than we actually have the resources for. Hopefully you can find this balance throughout your life and can maintain it!
Jun 26, 2025 @ 22:33:25
One of my concerns is that when starting a new position out of school, I am going to take on too many clients or become overwhelmed by the work load. I also find that I get stressed when I do not feel like I have adequate support, so I believe that good supervision will be essential in helping me prevent burnout. Currently, I find that exercising helps me relax and ease stress after work. I also think taking breaks throughout the day is very helpful for me. I think that continually participating in trainings and also attending meetings and supervisions at work will allow me to continue to learn from professionals and colleagues. I will also keep an open mind and be ready to learn new things as time goes on and the field continues to grow.
Jun 27, 2025 @ 12:40:31
Hi Ashley,
I agree that exercising can be a great way of relieving both physical and mental stress. I too enjoy putting my headphones on and lifting weights as a way to distract myself from the many stressors that work tends to present.
Jun 28, 2025 @ 16:33:31
Hi Ash!
I feel the same nervousness about being ambitious and taking on too many clients. Supervision is definitely a great place to air out your stressors and gain opinions. Make sure to take time to do things you enjoy and have outlets for yourself!
Jun 28, 2025 @ 17:56:41
Hi Ashley,
I am glad that I found someone I can relate to when it comes down to feeling overwhelmed when not having adequate support. Something I too want to be cautious off when I am searching for jobs is, being in an environment that can support me when it feels too heavy to do it on my own. I think this is why we need to be aware of our own boundaries and limits, which I feel like we will learn more about when we continue to work in this profession.