Has Your Shrink Been Shrunk?

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Philip Chard's Out of My Mind column is sponsored by AllWriters' Workplace & Workshop, which offers online classes in all genres and abilities of creative writing, as well as coaching and editing services. You can read past columns here.

If you’re seeing a therapist, has your shrink been shrunk?

I apologize for being flippant, but the question itself is not. Therapists are not immune to personal issues and life challenges, and if they don’t work on their own stuff, they won’t be fully capable of assisting you with yours. What’s more, during our pandemic, many mental health providers find themselves caught between the burgeoning emotional needs of clients and their own fears, stressors and psychological struggles. Right along with everybody else, therapists are feeling the negative social and emotional impacts from the COVID crisis.

Now, more than ever, psychotherapists need to go to therapy for themselves. I do and have periodically throughout my career. And, I’ve been privileged to serve as a therapist for some of my colleagues. Not surprisingly, what I hear from them lately, as well as coming from my own mouth, proves pretty consistent. As frontline workers ourselves, mental health providers don’t run the same physical risks as medical personnel and other customer-facing employees. However, we are exposed to equal or, in some cases, greater psychological risks. Which is why we need to practice what we preach.

Compassion Fatigue

“My clients talk about their anxieties and the disruptions the pandemic has brought to their lives, and it’s like I’m listening to the thoughts in my own head,” one psychologist told me.

“Compassion fatigue has set in,” another confessed. “I’m an empathetic person, and usually that makes me a better therapist, but the onslaught of distressed people has me running on empty.

“I used to end the day tired but satisfied. It felt good to make a difference in my clients’ lives. Now, when I wrap up, I’m anxious and agitated. I no longer feel like a lifeguard. Instead, I’m drowning in the same sea of suffering as my clients,” yet another shared.

Like many caregiving pursuits, psychotherapy is personally challenging even in ordinary times. Consequently, most shrinks learn to compartmentalize. Even when beset by our own troubles, we mentally set them aside and focus on the client’s reality. However, like most coping skills, this capacity is not limitless. Once a therapist’s stress load reaches a tipping point, self-absorption emerges, making a client-centered focus difficult, at best.

Sharing the Angst

“A client will be sharing their angst and I suddenly realize I’m ruminating on my own stuff,” one counselor with a serious underlying health condition told me. “It’s like trying to console a person in mourning when you’ve just lost a loved one too.”

Indications are that our already strained mental health care system is buckling under the burden of increased demand coupled with exacerbated conditions. Folks who were depressed, anxious, angry, agitated or otherwise unbalanced prior to the pandemic are only more so now. What’s more, experts suggest that, even after the pandemic eases, a delayed response will set in as more folks directly impacted by COVID-19, particularly healthcare and frontline workers, struggle with lingering emotional trauma. Make no mistake. Effective mental health care both improves and saves lives, but only if those providing it retain the capacity to do their work with competence and compassion.

That’s where shrinking the shrink comes in. While most therapists understand and can implement evidence-based approaches to self-care, sufficient stress makes other-care necessary. Over the years, I’ve spoken with colleagues who feel uncomfortable getting therapy themselves, succumbing to the negative social stigma associated with mental health issues. Of this group, many believe seeking psychotherapy for themselves would somehow cast doubt on their professional competence. Nothing could be further from the truth.

We are all flawed human beings, and just because someone has the education and license to provide mental health care doesn’t mean he or she transcends those limitations. As we often tell our clients, it takes courage to acknowledge one’s struggles and reach out for assistance.

We therapists need to look in the mirror and tell ourselves that same truth.

For more, visit philipchard.com.

Philip Chard's Out of My Mind column is sponsored by AllWriters' Workplace & Workshop, which offers online classes in all genres and abilities of creative writing, as well as coaching and editing services. You can read past columns here.