Five Surprising Ways Burnout Stunted My Career Growth
In the mental health field, most therapists are no strangers to the idea of burnout. For me, burnout created a major step back to my career. In the midst of it, I didn't even see it, but now as I reflect, I realize how much devastation it caused. In this post, I share how.
What is Burnout?
First, let's talk about what is burnout and how it affects you. Burnout is chronic workplace stress that is not being successfully managed. In the field of mental health, clinicians are frequently subjected to burnout due to high caseloads, low compensation, and an exorbitant amount of work that is uncompensated, ie. notes. These stressors in a combination of poor management, lack of support, and exhaustion drive great therapists out of the field.
How Prevalent is Burnout?
In 2020, it was found that 18% of health professionals have left their careers due to burnout. While the pandemic has contributed to this, the demand for mental health professionals has only increased. To add to the concern, the mental health industry is losing professionals faster than they can be replaced. In short, the mental health industry is losing practitioners at an alarming rate.
My Experience with Burnout
Like all grad student counselors in the making, I was taught about self-care as a way to combat burnout early on. I was even challenged to name hobbies and engage in activities as an intern to keep myself afloat. This drove my misconception of burnout. Due to this, I believed I could counter burnout by engaging in self-care activities alone. I had not realized that was not going to be enough until way later.
After grad school, I went on to work in community mental health. I often received productivity clauses. This was the amount of money I needed to bill for the organization. This clause was built into my contract and could result in my dismissal if I didn't make it. But, as an associate clinician, there aren't a lot of payers that reimburse you. Some reimburse at a lower rate. That meant to meet my productivity I would have to see at least 6-8 people 5 days a week.
That was a recipe for poor work-life balance. In those instances, I was always working to keep up with paperwork and client demands. Eventually, 2 years into my career, I was crying daily, experiencing panic attacks, and contemplating a career change.
1. Burnout Made me Question my Life
There were many instances where I felt lost. I had no idea what I was doing or if I was in the right career. Before experiencing burnout I was so passionate about my work. Afterward, I didn't know if I was cut out for being a therapist. It damaged my self-esteem all together.
2. Developed Severe Anxiety that Couldn't be Ignored
I begin to experience monthly panic attacks. I would cry often and be very emotional during my time of burnout. I begin to wake at 2 am to finish notes, write PCP's, and plan for the day. It created tension in my home life as I worried about everything.
3. Made Poor Job Decisions
In attempts to get out of a bad situation, I would jump into similar work situations, not realizing what was truly driving my burnout. It wasn't necessarily the job, It was poor work models, ineffective organization policies, and limited support and resources. All of the organizations worked essentially the same, which is why my experiences were similar.
4. Developed Negative Feelings Around Work
Burnout is more than exhaustion and stress. There are so many feelings that come with it, like anger, upset, frustration, disdain, and sadness. I often felt guilty because I didn't want to "do therapy" but needed to. I stopped vibing with clients. It was hard to do the work, further driving my thoughts about my fit for the field.
5. Eventually Required a Break from Direct Services
It got to the point where I could no longer provide outpatient therapy services and be an effective therapist. I was in a place where I hated everything about therapy. This led to a shift towards case management and admin work in the mental health field.
This is Was Only Temporary
Luckily I had a supervisor who was able to help me conceptualize a lot during this time. Together she helped me think about other things I could do aside from therapy. I started a coaching practice. I learned how to create courses, wrote podcasts, and started an email list. This lead me to online therapy after becoming fully licensed.
Online Work Saved My Career
Eventually, I started providing individual therapy online (outside of my day job). After three years at one community health agency, I was let go. Though initially shocked and hurt, I realized I didn't need to return because I could make funds on my own. I have the skills to pay the bills and it truly saved my career.
Career Set Back But Not Destroyed
It took five years to become fully licensed. And in that time I went from feeling like I wasn't a fit to creating my own source of income. I wrote ebooks, published a planner, created podcasts (before everyone else was doing it), and began forging my way to thought leadership in the field.
Poor policies and understanding about burnout may have set me up for a big headache, but, what I gained is a major understanding. The traditional revenue model isn't for all clinicians. I could be a therapist and not rely on direct services to bring in cash. I could diversify my income and not pack my caseload.
And now I teach clinicians what I learned. Because I don't want to see other clinicians go through what I did. Now I help clinicians beat and prevent burnout by showing them out they can diversify their income and provide services that truly align with their needs and desires.
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