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Traumatic events can occur at any moment in time. As a mental health professional it is important to be prepared for when a traumatic situation may come about. The individuals in which we serve come from all walks of life and it is impossible to predict what you will hear from those individuals on a daily basis. Managing your own affect in the midst of and following a traumatic situation is an important element in which mental health professionals must practice competently in order to avoid burn out. Emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decrease in personal accomplishment are all examples of the psychological syndrome known as burn out (Yang & Hayes, 2020). Burn out is very prevalent among mental health professionals due to the demands of the individuals in which we serve. There are many factors that influence burn out which include the nature of the mental health professional's caseload, countertransference reactions, support from superiors, the mental health professionals' own mental health history, and job control(Yang & Hayes, 2020). As a mental health professional I have experienced burnout in the past and it has greatly affected my productivity as well as my well-being. I can tell when I am on the verge of burn-out. I will typically display irritability and may even become tearful. I have also experienced getting physically sick and exhausted as a result of burnout.

When I was provisionally licensed as a mental health counselor, I struggled with burnout often because I was learning about my capacity to cope with a large caseload and a lack of self-care. I can remember feeling overwhelmed everyday and as if I was still at work even when I was off the clock. I struggled with communicating appropriately with my loved ones and I was doing just enough to keep my head above the water. My first experience with burn-out resulted in me resigning from my job in foster care and taking a month-long hiatus to focus on myself and my well-being. I have had a few run-ins with burn-out since my first experience but I would like to think that I have gotten better at recognizing the signs that my body gives before burn-out occurs. 

The work that we do as mental health professionals with our clients is psychologically demanding. Trauma history of the mental health professional, a lack of support within the work environment, lack of experience, challenges in maintaining emotional boundaries, and hyper engagement are all aggravating factors that make mental health professionals vulnerable to burn out and compassion fatigue (Mantelou, A., & Karakasidou, E., 2019). Compassion fatigue is when an individual exhibits a decrease in the capacity or interest in being able to suffer the pain of others. Compassion fatigue occurs when an individual is exposed to extremely stressful or traumatic events Within the work environment due to the nature of the job. Compassion fatigue includes burnout and secondary trauma stress.

When I am on the verge of burnout, I am mentally and physically exhausted. I notice that I do not have as much patience as I normally would and I am quick to snap at others. I have also noticed that my capacity to help others is limited when I am facing burn out. My affect is dull and I struggle to find the motivation to keep going in terms of digging deeper into my work. I find that things that would normally spark my interest do not because I am unable to absorb any more mentally. When I become stressed I do not like to make decisions and I tend to become passive.

After my first few experiences with burn out, I have recognized that I needed to put some things in place to be proactive when it comes to burn out. I am very compassionate about what I do for a living however it is important for me to recognize my limitations and to be able to put boundaries in place so that I can be effective at what I do. As much as I would like to help anyone and everyone I understand that I am not able to do so unless I take care of myself first. One of the things that I started doing is scheduling time for myself to decompress. I will set time aside and decide to do one thing that I've been wanting to do but have not made the time for. This one thing could be as simple as reading a book or going for a walk. Another intervention that I have put in place to prevent burn out is to ensure that I have a good support system that I can rely on. I have established a good social support system with individuals who I have worked with in the past professionally as well as individuals that I currently work with. This is super helpful because we have a commonality of wanting to help individuals. I believe the first part of being proactive to manage for a positive affect in the midst of doing trauma work is to be able to recognize the signs of burnout. Once you are able to recognize the signs of burnout it is easier to implement interventions. It is very similar to what we teach our clients. We teach our clients coping skills so that they can use them as needed and we also teach them to recognize the signs or triggers. Much like recognizing the signs and triggers, as mental health professionals it is important that we recognize the signs of burnout so that we can utilize our coping skills before it is too late. After experiencing burn out it is also important to evaluate what you could do better to prevent burn out next time.